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THE  STORY 

OF  THE 

ROMANS 


HEW.  YQRK-^erNGINNATI  •  CHK.'AuO  \ 


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AMERICAN  ;-  BOOK.  •.  GOMfiAN V 


dfayiy- 


ECLECTIC    SCHOOL    READINGS 


The  Story  of  the  Romans 


BY 


H.   A.   GUERBER 


«*Jc 


NEW  YORK-:- CINCINNATI-:- CHICAGO 
AMERICAN   BOOK   COMPANY 


EDUCATION  DEPT. 

Copyright,  1896,  by 
AMERICAN  BOOK  COMPANY. 


STORY  OF  THE   ROMANS. 
W.  P.  9 


PREFACE. 


This  elementary  history  of  Rome,  since  it  is  intended  for  very 
young  readers,  has  been  related  as  simply  and  directly  as  possible. 
The  aim  is  not  only  to  instruct,  but  to  interest,  school  children, 
and  to  enable  them,  as  it  were  in  play,  to  gain  a  fair  idea  of  the 
people  and  city  of  which  they  will  hear  so  much. 

This  book  is  also  planned  to  serve  as  a  general  introduction  to 
the  study  of  Latin,  which  most  pupils  begin  before  they  have  had 
time  to  study  history.  With  little,  if  any,  knowledge  of  the  people 
who  spoke  the  language  they  are  learning,  children  cannot  be 
expected  to  take  so  lively  an  interest  in  the  study  as  they  would 
if  they  knew  more.  Many  a  schoolboy  is  plunged  into  the  Com- 
mentaries of  Caesar  before  having  any  idea  of  the  life  of  that  great 
man  ;  and,  as  the  information  gained  about  him  through  the  Latin 
is  necessarily  acquired  piecemeal  and  slowly,  it  is  no  great  wonder 
that  Caesar  has  been  vaguely,  yet  vindictively,  stigmatized  as  "  the 
fellow  who  fought  a  lot  of  battles  just  so  he  could  plague  boys." 

By  gaining  a  general  idea  of  the  great  heroes  of  Roman  history, 
a  child's  enthusiasm  can  be  so  roused  that  Latin  will  be  connected 
ever  after  —  as  it  should  be  —  with  a  lively  recollection  of  the 
great  men  who  spoke  and  wrote  it. 

To  secure  this  end,  the  writer  has  not  only  told  the  main  facts 
of  Roman  history,  but  has  woven  in  the  narrative  many  of  the 
mythical  and  picturesque  tales  which,  however  untrue,  form  an 
important  part  of  classical  history,  literature,  and  art.     Govern- 

3 


3*193165 


ment,  laws,  customs,  etc.,  have  been  only  lightly  touched  upon, 
because  children  are  most  interested  in  the  sayings  and  doings  of 
people. 

This  volume  may  be  used  merely  as  a  reader  or  first  history 
text- book,  but  the  teacher  will  find  that,  like  "The  Story  of  the 
Greeks,"  it  can  also  serve  as  a  fund  of  stories  for  oral  or  written 
reproduction,  and  as  an  aid  to  the  study  of  European  geography. 

Maps,  illustrations,  and  index  have  been  added  to  enhance 
its  usefulness  and  attractiveness,  and  wherever  a  proper  name 
occurs  for  the  first  time,  the  pronunciation  has  been  carefully 
marked  as  given  by  the  best  authorities. 

The  writer  trusts  that  "  The  Story  of  the  Romans  "  may  prove 
sufficiently  interesting  to  young  readers  to  make  them  look  for- 
ward to  reading  and  learning  more  about  the  people  to  whom 
they  are  now  introduced. 


CONTENTS. 


«<AGE 

Maps .        .  9, 10 

I.  The  First  Settlers           .         .         .         .         .         .         .       11 

II.  The  Escape  from  the  Burning  City        .         .         .         .14 

III.  The  Clever  Trick 17 

IV.  The  Boards  are  Eaten 20 

V.     The  Wolf  and  the  Twins 22 

VI.  Romulus  builds  Rome  .......       25 

VII.     The  Maidens  Carried  off 28 

VIII.     Union  of  Sabines  and  Romans 31 

IX.     Death  of  Romulus 32 

X.  The  Strange  Signs  of  the  Romans          ....       34 

XI.  The  Quarrel  with  Alba  .         .         .         .         .         .         -37 

XII.  The  Fight  between  the  Horatii  and  the  Curiatii     .         .       39 

XIII.  Tarquin  and  the  Eagle 42 

XIV.  The  Roman  Youths 45 

XV.     The  King  Outwitted 47 

XVI.     The  Murder  of  Tarquin 50 

XVII.  The  Ungrateful  Children       .         .         .         .                  .       51 

XVIII.     The  Mysterious  Books -54 

XIX.     Tarquin's  Poppies 58 

XX.     The  Oracle  of  Delphi 60 

XXI.     The  Death  of  Lucretia 62 

XXII.     The  Stern  Father 66 

XXIII.  A  Roman  Triumph        .                            ....       69 

5 


PAGE 

XXIV.  A  Roman  Triumph  {Continued)      ....       71 

XXV.     The  Defense  of  the  Bridge 73 

XXVI.     The  Burnt  Hand 76 

XXVII.     The  Twin  Gods 78 

XXVIII.  The  Wrongs  of  the  Poor          .        .        .        .        .81 

XXIX.     The  Fable  of  the  Stomach 84 

XXX.  The  Story  of  Coriolanus  .        .        .        .        .         .87 

XXXI.     The  Farmer  Hero .91 

XXXII.     The  New  Laws 94 

XXXIII.  The  Death  of  Virginia 97 

XXXIV.  The  Plans  of  a  Traitor     .         .  ■      .        .        .        .98 
XXXV.  The  School-Teacher  Punished          .         .         .         .101 

XXXVI.     The  Invasion  of  the  Gauls 104 

XXXVII.     The  Sacred  Geese 106 

XXXVIII.  Two  Heroes  of  Rome       .         .         .         .         .         .109 

XXXIX.  The  Disaster  at  the  Caudine  Forks  .         .        .         .112 

XL.     Pyrrhus  and  his  Elephants 115 

XLI.     The  Elephants  Routed 119 

XLII.     Ancient  Ships 121 

XLIII.     Regulus  and  the  Snake 124 

XLIV.     Hannibal  crosses  the  Alps 128 

XLV.     The  Romans  Defeated 130 

XLVI.  The  Inventor  Archimedes        .         .         .         .         .133 

XLVII.     The  Roman  Conquests 137 

XLVIII.     Destruction  of  Carthage 139 

XLIX.     Roman  Amusements 142 

L.     The  Jewels  of  Cornelia 146 

LI.  The  Death  of  Tiberius  Gracchus      .        .        .        .148 

LII.     Caius  Gracchus         .         . 151 

LIII.     Jugurtha,  King  of  Numidia 153 

LIV.     The  Barbarians 155 

LV.  The  Social  War       .         .         .         .         .         .         .158 

LVI.     The  Flight  of  Marius 160 


7 

PAGE 

LVII.  The  Proscription  Lists          .         .         .        .         .     162 

LVIII.     Sertorius  and  his  Doe 165 

LIX.     The  Revolt  of  the  Slaves 167 

LX.     Pompey's  Conquests 170 

LXI.     The  Conspiracy  of  Catiline 172 

LXII.  Caesar's  Conquests         .        .        .        .        .        .176 

LXIII.  The  Crossing  of  the  Rubicon         .        .        .         .179 

LXIV.     The  Battle  of  Pharsalia 181 

LXV.     The  Death  of  Caesar 184 

LXVI.  The  Second  Triumvirate       .         .        .        .        .188 

LXVII.  The  Vision  of  Brutus     .         .         .         .         .         .189 

LXVIII.     Antony  and  Cleopatra 192 

LXIX.     The  Poisonous  Snake 195 

LXX.     The  Augustan  Age 197 

LXXI.     Death  of  Augustus 201 

LXXII.     Varus  Avenged 203 

LXXIII.     Death  of  Germanicus 206 

LXXIV.     Tiberius  Smothered 208 

LXXV.  The  Wild  Caligula         .         .         .         .         .         .211 

LXX VI.  The  Wicked  Wives  of  Claudius     .        .        .        .215 

LXX VI I.     Nero's  First  Crimes 218 

LXXVIII.     The  Christians  Persecuted 221 

LXXIX.     Nero's  Cruelty 225 

LXXX.     Two  Short  Reigns 227 

LXXXI.     The  Siege  of  Jerusalem 228 

LXXXII.     The  Buried  Cities 231 

LXXXIII.     The  Terrible  Banquet .235 

LXXXIV.     The  Emperor's  Tablets 237 

LXXXV.     The  Good  Trajan 239 

LXXX VI.     Trajan's  Column 240 

LXXXVII.     The  Great  Wall 243 

LXXXVIII.     Hadrian's  Death 244 

LXXXIX.     Antoninus  Pius 246 


XC.  The  Model  Pagan 

XCI.  Another  Cruel  Emperor 

XCII.  An  Unnatural  Son 

XCIII.  The  Senate  of  Women 

XCIV.  The  Gigantic  Emperor 

XCV.  Invasion  of  the  Goths 

XCVI.  Zenobia,  Queen  of  Palmyra 

XCVII.  A  Prophecy  Fulfilled  . 

XCVIII.  The  First  Christian  Emperor 

XCIX.  The  Roman  Empire  Divided 

C.  An  Emperor's  Penance 

CI.  Sieges  of  Rome  . 

CI  I.  End  of  the  Empire  of  the  West 


PAGE 
248 
251 
254 
256 
259 
262 
264 
266 
269 
271 

273 
275 
277 


if  6 »^  AS/ 1 

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t^S^yh 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  ROMANS. 


aXKc 


I.   THE   FIRST   SETTLERS. 

YOU  are  now  going  to  hear  about  the  building  of 
Rome,  the  capital  of  Italy,  in  Europe.  By  looking 
at  your  maps,  you  will  soon  find  in  Europe  a  peninsula, 
shaped  somewhat  like  a  boot,  and  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  the  Med-it-er-ra'ne-an  and  Ad-ri-at'ic  seas.  This 
peninsula  is  Italy.  To  the  north  are  the  snow-topped 
Alps,  a  chain  of  high  mountains  which  separate  this  coun- 
try from  the  rest  of  Europe ;  and  through  the  peninsula 
run  the  Ap'en-nines,  a  less  lofty  mountain  range. 

As  Italy  is  in  the  southern  part  of  Europe,  it  has  a  very 
mild  and  delightful  climate.  The  tall  mountains  in  the 
north  prevent  the  cold  winds  from  sweeping  down  upon 
it,  and  many  plants  which  you  see  here  in  hothouses 
grow  there  in  the  open  ground. 

Orange  and  almond  trees,  camellias  and  pomegranates, 
are  all  covered  with  fruit  or  flowers,  and  the  vine  and 
olive  both  yield  rich  harvests  in  this  beautiful  land.  The 
soil  is  so  rich  that  people  do  not  need  to  work  very  hard 
in  order  to  have  fine  crops,  and,  as  the  weather  is  gener- 


.  .12 


ally  clear,  they  can  live  out  of  doors  almost  all  the  year 
round. 

As  the  climate  is  so  pleasant,  the  land  so  fertile,  the 
skies  so  blue,  and  the  views  so  beautiful,  travelers  have 
always  liked  to  visit  Italy,  and  have  spoken  about  its 
charms  to  all  they  met.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that 
many  people  have  gone  to  settle  there,  and  you  will 
easily  understand  that  the  whole  country  was  occupied 
long,  long  ago. 

So  many  years  ago  that  no  one  can  really  tell  when 
it  was,  Italy  was  already  inhabited  by  a  people  who, 
judging  from  what  we  have  heard  of  them,  must  once 
have  lived  in  Central  Asia.  These  people  were  prob- 
ably crowded  at  home,  and  left  their  native  land  in 
search  of  good  pasture  for  their  cattle,  and  a  fertile 
country  where  they  might  dwell. 

They  traveled  on  and  on,  day  after  day,  and,  coming 
finally  to  the  great  mountains,  some  of  them  climbed  up 
to  see  what  was  on  the  other  side.  When  they  beheld 
the  green  valleys  of  Italy,  and  saw  how  beautiful  the 
country  was,  they  told  their  companions,  and  all  made 
haste  to  cross  the  mountains. 

These  people  traveled  on  foot,  with  their  families, 
cattle,  and  all  their  household  goods ;  and  they  were 
very  rude  and  uncivilized.  Little  by  little,  however,  they 
learned  to  build  houses,  to  cook  their  food,  to  make  rude 
pottery  from  the  clay  they  found  in  the  valleys,  to  spin 
and  weave  the  wool  from  their  sheep,  and  to  fashion  this 
homemade  stuff  into  garments. 

Although  each  family  at  first  lived  by  itself,  they  soon 
discovered  that  if  several  families  joined  together,  they 


13 

could  cultivate  the  ground  better,  could  hunt  more  suc- 
cessfully, and  that  in  time  of  danger  they  could  more 
easily  defend  themselves. 

Thus  several  families  would  form  a  tribe  under  the 
strongest  and  cleverest  man  among  them,  whom  they 
chose  as  their  leader.  These  leaders  selected  the  best 
place  for  them  to  settle  in,  told  them  what  to  do  in  time 
of  war,  and  thus  became  chiefs  or  kings  over  their  own 
tribes. 

There  were  a  number  of  such  little  kingdoms  scattered 
throughout  Italy,  and  as  the  people  grew  richer,  wiser, 
and  more  numerous,  they  occupied  more  and  more  land. 

Now  it  was  from  some  of  these  tribes  that  the  Romans 
were  mostly  descended.  Their  city  became  in  time  the 
greatest  in  the  world,  and  many  histories  have  been  writ- 
ten about  it ;  but  none  of  them  were  begun  until  sev- 
eral centuries  after  Rome  was  founded.  Hardly  any 
records  had  been  kept  of  the  distant  past,  and  the  best 
that  could  be  done  was  to  write  down  some  stories  that 
had  been  told  by  parents  to  their  children,  and  thus  had 
been  preserved  from  generation  to  generation.  These 
had  become  much  changed  by  being  told  so  many  times, 
and  they  were  connected  and  rounded  out  by  pure  guess- 
work ;  but  the  whole  was  soon  accepted  as  true,  and  was 
believed  in  by  every  one  for  ages. 

You  will  now  read  the  story  from  the  beginning,  as  the 
Romans  themselves  told  it.  Many  of  the  events  in  the 
first  part  of  it  never  really  happened ;  but  no  one  can  tell 
exactly  where  the  mere  stories  leave  off,  and  the  true  his- 
tory begins.  And  every  well-educated  person  is  expected 
to  know  the  whole  story.  > 


H 


II.    THE  ESCAPE   FROM  THE  BURNING  CITY. 

IN  the  days  when  the  Greeks  were  fighting  against  Troy, 
—  that  great  city  in  Asia  Minor  which  they  besieged 
for  ten  years,  —  the  people  in  Italy  were  divided  into 
several  small  kingdoms,  among  which  were  those  of  the 
E-trus'cans  and  the  Latins. 

The  Etruscans  occupied  the  northern  part  of  Italy,  or 
the  top  of  the  boot,  and  called  their  country  E-tru'ri-a, 
while  the  Latins  dwelt  farther  south,  in  a  province  named 
La'tium.  Each  of  these  kingdoms  had  its  own  leader  or 
king,  whom  all  the  people  obeyed. 

Now  the  King  of  Latium  in  those  days  was  La-ti'nus. 
He  had  a  beautiful  daughter  called  La-vin'i-a,  and  as  soon 
as  she  was  old  enough  to  marry,  he  thought  of  getting  her 
a  good  husband.  One  night  King  Latinus  dreamed  that 
the  gods  of  his  country  came  and  spoke  to  him,  telling 
him  to  be  sure  and  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  a 
stranger  whom  they  would  send  to  Latium. 

When  Latinus  awoke,  he  was  very  much  troubled,  be- 
cause his  wife  was  anxious  that  Lavinia  should  marry 
Tur'nus,  a  neighboring  king.  The  queen  soon  persuaded 
Latinus  to  allow  this  engagement  to  take  place,  but  he 
insisted  that  the  marriage  should  be  postponed  for  some 
time  longer. 

In  the  mean  while  the  city  of  Troy  had  at  last  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Greeks.  The  brave  Tro'jans  were 
attacked  by  night,  and  only  a  few  among  them  managed 
to  escape  death. 

Among  these  few,  however,  there  was  a  prince  named 


i5 

JE-ne'as.  His  father  was  An-chi'ses,  the  cousin  of  the 
King  of  Troy,  and  his  mother  was  Ve'nus,  the  goddess 
of  beauty.  As  Venus  did  not  want  her  son  to  die  with 
the  rest  of  the  Trojans,  she  appeared  to  him  during  the 
fatal  night  when  the  Greeks  had  secretly  entered  Troy, 
and  were  plundering  and  burning  the  houses.  She 
showed  him  that  resistance  would  be  useless,  and  bade 
him  flee  from  the  city,  with  all  his  family. 

^Eneas  had  been  taught  to  obey  every  word  the  gods 
said;  so  he  at  once  stopped  fighting,  and  hurried  back 
to  his  house.  Then  he  lifted  his  poor  old  father  up  on 
his  back,  took  his  little  son  I-u'lus  by  the  hand,  and  called 
to  his  wife  and  servants  to  follow  him. 

This  strange  group  of  fugitives  quickly  passed  out  of 
the  city,  where  the  flames  were  now  rising  on  all  sides, 
and,  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  made  their  way  to 
a  temple  near  by.  Here  they  paused  to  rest,  and  ^Eneas 
counted  his  followers  to  make  sure  that  they  were  all 
there. 

Imagine  his  sorrow  when  he  found  that  his  beloved 
wife  was  missing!  He  rushed  back  into  the  burning 
city,  and  searched  everywhere  for  her,  calling  her  name 
aloud,  in  spite  of  the  danger.  At  last  he  met  some  one 
who  told  him  that  his  wife  had  been  killed,  and  that  she 
wished  him  to  escape  to  a  better  country,  where  he  should 
found  a  new  kingdom,  and  where  a  new  wife  should  take 
her  place,  and  make  him  happy  once  more. 

^Eneas  sorrowfully  turned  back,  and  at  the  temple  found 
that  his  followers  had  been  joined  by  others  who  had  man- 
aged to  escape  unseen  amid  the  smoke  and  darkness.  He 
led  the  way  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  not  long  afterwards 


i6 


set  sail  with  his  little  band  of  faithful  Trojans,  who  all 
promised  to  obey  and  follow  him  wherever  he  went. 

The  ships  drifted  aimlessly  for  a  long  time,  because 
yEneas  had  no  idea  where  he  was  to  found  his  new  king- 
dom. Twice  he  tried  to  settle  down,  but  each  time  some- 
thing happened  to  drive  him  away.  Finally  he  asked  the 
advice  of  his  father,  Anchises,  a  wise  and  pious  old  man, 
who  had  snatched  up  his  gods  when  he  left  his  house, 
and  had  brought  them  with  him  on  the  ship. 

The  old  man  now  said  that  he  would  consult  these 
images,  and  he  offered  them  a  sacrifice.  The  next  night 
JEnesiS  dreamed  that  the  gods  spoke  to  him  and  told  him 
that  he  should  go  to  Italy,  a  land  whence  one  of  his  ances- 
tors had  come  to  Troy. 

The  little  band  therefore  sailed  for  the  west,  although 
it  was  foretold  that  they  would  have  to  suffer  many  hard- 
ships ere  they  could  reach  Italy,  and  that  they  would  not 
be  able  to  settle  until  they  had  eaten  the  very  boards  upon 
which  their  food  was  served. 

As  ^Eneas  was  a  brave  man,  the  prospect  of  a  terrible 
famine  did  not  fill  his  heart  with  despair,  and  he  calmly 
sailed  on  in  search  of  a  home.  There  are  almost  count- 
less islands  in  that  part  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  thus 
the  boats  were  seldom  out  of  sight  of  land.  They  stopped 
from  time  to  time,  but  ^Eneas  did  not  dare  to  settle  any- 
where, because  he  thought  the  gods  opposed  it ;  and  he 
always  urged  his  people  to  embark  again  and  sail  on. 

The  Trojans  were  by  this  time  very  tired  of  sailing,  but 
they  loved  ^Eneas  so  well  that  they  gladly  followed  him, 
although  they  would  have  liked  to  make  their  homes  in 
the  islands  they  visited. 


17 


III.    THE   CLEVER   TRICK. 

AFTER  many  days  of  sailing  thus  on  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  after  much  suffering  in 
the  different  islands  where  they  stopped  to  rest,  ^Eneas 
and  his  companions  came  at  last  to  the  island  of  Sic'i-ly. 
This,  as  you  will  see  on  your  maps;  is  a  three-cornered 
piece  of  land,  near  the  toe  of  the  boot  formed  by  the 
I-tal'ian  peninsula.  While  the  Trojans  were  resting  here, 
poor  old  Anchises  died,  and  was  buried  by  his  sorrowing 
son.  But  as  soon  as  the  funeral  rites  were  ended,  ^Eneas 
prepared  to  sail  away,  for  he  knew  that  this  was  not  the 
place  where  he  was  to  make  his  new  home. 

Unfortunately  for  ^Eneas,  some  of  the  gods  whom  his 
people  had  so  long  worshiped  had  taken  a  dislike  to  all 
the  Trojan  race.  It  was  these  gods  who  made  him  suffer 
so  much,  and  one  of  them  now  stirred  up  a  terrible 
tempest. 

The  boats  were  tossed  up  and  down  on  the  waves,  and 
driven  apart  by  the  fierce  winds,  and  some  of  them  sank 
under  the  water.  The  other  vessels  would  have  been 
dashed  to  pieces,  and  all  the  men  on  board  would  have 
perished,  had  not  a  second  god  interfered  in  favor  of 
Mntas,  and  suddenly  stilled  the  awful  storm. 

The  wind  was  so  high,  the  darkness  so  great,  and  the 
lightning  flashes  so  blinding,  that  ^Eneas  had  lost  his 
bearings.  When  the  storm  was  over,  he  sailed  for  the 
nearest  land,  and  came  to  the  coast  of  what  is  now  Tu'nis  jf 
but  he  had  no  idea  where  he  was.  He  therefore  bade  his 
companions  remain  on  the  ships,  while  he  went  ashore 

STO.    OF   ROM,  — 2 


(18) 


19 

with  only  one  man,  —  the  faithful  A-cha'tes,  who  always 
went  with  him,  and  was  his  devoted  friend.  So  these  two 
men  started  out  and  began  cautiously  to  explore  the 
country  where  they  had  landed,  trying  to  find  some  one 
who  could  tell  them  where  they  were. 

Before  long  they  met  a  beautiful  woman.  This  was 
Venus,  the  mother  of  ^Eneas,  in  disguise.  She  had  come 
there  to  tell  her  son  all  about  the  place  where  he  had 
landed,  and  to  give  him  some  good  advice ;  but  she  did 
not  wish  to  have  him  know  her  at  first. 

Venus,  therefore,  began  to  speak  to  iEneas  as  if  he  were 
a  stranger,  and  in  answer  to  his  questions  said  that  he  had 
landed  in  Africa,  near  the  new  city  of  Car'thage.  This 
town,  she  said,  was  ruled  by  Di'do,  a  beautiful  queen,  who 
had  also  come  from  the  coast  of  Asia,  but  from  a  spot 
southeast  of  the  ruined  city  of  Troy. 
^Pido's  husband  had  been  murdered  by  her  brother,  and 
she  had  fled  in  the  night,  upon  one  of  her  vessels,  carry- 
ing off  all  her  treasures ;  for  she  knew  that  her  brother 
would  soon  try  to  kill  her  also.  Many  of  her  faithful 
subjects  followed  her,  swearing  that  they  would  settle 
wherever  she  wished,  and  promising  to  help  her  found  a 
new  kingdom  of  which  she  should  be  queen. 

When  Dido  reached  the  coast  of  Africa,  near  the  present 
city  of  Tunis,  and  saw  how  beautiful  the  country  seemed, 
she  wished  to  settle  there ;  but  the  people  refused  to  sell 
her  the  land  on  which  to  build  a  city.  She  tried  in  vain 
to  persuade  them,  and  finally  made  up  her  mind  to  secure 
the  land  by  a  clever  trick.  She  therefore  asked  the  peo- 
ple if  they  would  be  willing  to  sell  her  as  much  land  as 
an    oxhide  would    inclose.     The   rude  people  were  quite 


20 


ready  to  part  with  a  few  measures  of  dirt ;  so  the  bargain 
was  at  once  made. 

Imagine  their  surprise,  however,  when  Dido  had  a  large 
ox  skin  cut  up  into  very  narrow  strips,  drew  these  around 
a  vast  tract  of  land,  and  claimed  it  as  her  own !  As  the 
land  had  certainly  been  inclosed  by  an  oxhide,  they  could 
not  dispute  her  right  to  it,  and  Dido  at  once  began  to  build 
a  beautiful  city,  about  which  you  will  hear  many  tales. 


>*Kc 


IV.     THE   BOARDS   ARE   EATEN. 

VENUS  went  away  after  telling  her  son  the  story  of  the 
oxhide  and  of  the  founding  of  Carthage ;  and  ^Eneas, 
following  her  advice,  then  walked  on  to  the  city.  Here 
he  was  kindly  received  by  the  beautiful  queen,  who  made 
him  and  all  his  companions  welcome  in  her  palace.  While 
there  ALneas  told  her  all  about  the  long  siege  of  Troy,  the 
taking  of  the  city,  his  escape  by  night,  his  long  wanderings 
on  the  sea,  and  his  shipwreck  near  her  city. 

These  stories  greatly  interested  Dido,  and  she  kept 
^Emeas  in  her  palace  almost  a  whole  year.  As  she  had 
fallen  in  love  with  him,  she  would  have  liked  to  keep  him 
there  always ;  but  the  gods  had  decided  that  ^Eneas 
should  again  set  sail,  and  one  day  they  sent  him  orders  to 
depart  at  once. 

^Eneas  knew  that  Dido  would  do  her  best  to  keep  him 
in  Carthage,  so  he  stole  away  while  she  slept,  without 
even  bidding  her  good-by.  When  she  awoke  and  asked 
for  him  his  ships  were  almost  out  of  sight 


21 


In  her  grief  at  his  departure,  Dido  made  up  her  mind 
to  die.  She  gave  orders  that  all  the  things  he  had  used 
during  his  visit  should  be  placed  on  a  great  pile  of  wood. 
Then  she  set  fire  to  it  with  her  own  hand,  and,  stabbing 
herself,  sprang  into  the  flames,  where  she  died. 

Of  course  we  know  that  such  a  deed  is  a  crime ;  but  in 
the  days  of  Queen  Dido,  people  had  not  learned  many  of 
the  things  that  are  now  taught  even  to  children,  and  they 
thought  that  it  was  very  brave  to  take  one's  own  life. 

iEneas  and  his  companions,  having  left  Carthage,  now 
sailed  back  to  Sicily,  where  they  visited  the  tomb  of 
Anchises  just  one  year  after  his  death.  To  show  respect 
for  his  father's  memory,  ^Eneas  ordered  the  celebration  of 
games,  as  was  the  custom  among  the  Trojans.  The  men 
strove  with  one  another  in  a  boat  race,  a  foot  race,  in 
boxing  and  archery  matches ;  and  the  boys  took  part  in  a 
drill  and  sham  battle  on  horseback. 

After  the  games  were  over,  the  Trojans  coasted  along 
the  shore  of  Italy  for  some  time,  and  finally  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Ti'ber  River.  When  ^Eneas  saw  the  fair 
country  that  stretched  out  before  him,  he  bade  his  men 
sail  up  the  stream,  and  towards  evening  they  all  went 
ashore  to  cook  their  food.  Some  flat  cakes  were  baked, 
and  as  they  had  no  dishes  with  them,  lulus  proposed  that 
these  should  serve  as  plates. 

The  men  all  sat  down  around  the  fire ;  and  lulus,  who 
was  very  hungry  indeed,  quickly  ate  his.  share  of  meat, 
and  then  devoured  the  cake  on  which  it  had  been  placed. 
As  he  swallowed  the  last  mouthful  he  cried :  "  Just  see 
how  hungry  I  was !  I  have  eaten  even  the  board  on 
which  my  meal  was  served ! " 


22 


At  these  words  ^Eneas  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  cried 
that  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled  at  last,  and  that  now  they 
could  settle  in  the  beautiful  country  they  had  reached. 
The  next  day  they  were  welcomed  by  Latinus,  King  of 
Latium,  who,  after  hearing  their  story,  remembered  his 
dream,  and  promised  that  yEneas  should  have  his  daughter 
Lavinia  in  marriage. 

V.     THE   WOLF   AND   THE   TWINS. 

ALTHOUGH  /Eneas  had  been  so  kindly  welcomed 
to  Latium  by  the  king,  his  troubles  were  not  yet 
ended.  Turnus,  the  young  king  who  had  been  engaged 
to  Lavinia,  was  angry  at  her  being  given  to  another,  and, 
in  the  hope  of  winning  her  still,  he  declared  war  against 
the  Trojan  strangers. 

During  the  war  ^Eneas  and  Turnus  both  won  much 
glory  by  their  courage.  At  last  they  met  in  single  com- 
bat, in  which  Turnus  was  conquered  and  slain ;  and  /Eneas, 
having  thus  got  rid  of  his  rival,  married  the  fair  princess. 

He  then  settled  in  Latium,  where  he  built  a  city  which 
was  called  La-vhVi-um,  in  honor  of  his  wife.  Some  time 
after,  /Eneas  fell  in  battle  and  was  succeeded  by  his  sons. 
The  Trojans  and  Latins  were  now  united,  and  during 
the  next  four  hundred  years  the  descendants  of  /Eneas 
continued  to  rule  over  them ;  for  this  was  the  kingdom 
which  the  gods  had  promised  him  when  he  fled  from  Troy. 

The  throne  of  Latium  finally  came  to  Nu 'mi-tor,  a  good 
and  wise  monarch.  He  had  a  son  and  a  daughter,  and 
little  suspected  that  any  one  would  harm  either  of  them. 


23 

Unfortunately  for  him,  however,  his  brother  A-mu'li-us 
was  anxious  to  secure  the  throne.  He  took  advantage 
of  Numitor's  confidence,  and,  having  driven  his  brother 
away,  killed  his  nephew,  and  forced  his  niece,  Rhe'a 
Syl'vi-a,  to  become  a  servant  of  the  goddess  Ves'ta^- 

The  girls  who  served  this  goddess  were  called  Vestal 
Virgins.  They  were  obliged  to  remain  in  her  temple  for 
thirty  years,  and  were  not  allowed  to  marry  until  their  time 
of  service  was  ended.  They  watched  over  a  sacred  fire  in 
the  temple,  to  prevent  its  ever  going  out,  because  such  an 
event  was  expected  to  bring  misfortune  upon  the  people. 

If  any  Vestal  Virgin  proved  careless,  and  allowed  the 
sacred  fire  to  go  out,  or  if  she  failed  to  keep  her  vow  to 
remain  single,  she  was  punished  by  being  buried  alive. 
With  such  a  terrible  fate  in  view,  you  can  easily  under- 
stand that  the  girls  were  very  obedient,  and  Amulius 
thought  that  there  was  no  danger  of  his  niece's  marrying 
as  long  as  she  served  Vesta. 

We  are  told,  however,  that  Mars,  the  god  of  war,  once 
came  down  upon  earth.  He  saw  the  lovely  Rhea  Syl- 
via, fell  in  love  with  her,  wooed  her  secretly,  and  finally 
persuaded  her  to  marry  him  without  telling  any  one 
about  it. 

For  some  time  all  went  well,  and  no  one  suspected  that 
Rhea  Sylvia,  the  Vestal  Virgin,  had  married  the  god  of 
war.  But  one  day  a  messenger  came  to  tell  Amulius  that 
his  niece  was  the  mother  of  twin  sons. 

The  king  flew  into  a  passion  at  this  news,  and  vainly 
tried  to  discover  the  name  of  Rhea  Sylvia's  husband.  She 
refused  to  tell  it,  and  Amulius  gave  orders  that  she  should 
be  buried  alive.     Her  twin  children,   Rom'u-lus  and  Re'- 


(24) 


25 

mus,  were  also  condemned  to  die ;  but,  instead  of  burying 
them  alive  with  their  mother,  Amulius  had  them  placed  in 
their  cradle,  and  set  adrift  on  the  Tiber  River. 

The  king  thought  that  the  babes  would  float  out  to  sea, 
where  they  would  surely  perish ;  but  the  cradle  drifted 
ashore  before  it  had  gone  far.  There  the  cries  of  the  hun- 
gry children  were  heard  by  a  she-wolf.  This  poor  beast 
had  just  lost  her  cubs,  which  a  cruel  hunter  had  killed.  So 
instead  of  devouring  the  babies,  the  she-wolf  suckled 
them  as  if  they  were  the  cubs  she  had  lost;  and  the 
Romans  used  to  tell  their  children  that  a  woodpecker 
brought  the  twins  fresh  berries  to  eat. 

Thus  kept  alive  by  the  care  of  a  wolf  and  a  bird,  the 
children  remained  on  the  edge  of  the  river,  until  a  shep- 
herd passed  that  way.  He  heard  a  strange  noise  in  a 
thicket,  and,  on  going  there  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
found  the  children  with  the  wolf.  Of  course  the  shep- 
herd was  greatly  surprised  at  this  sight ;  but  he  took  pity 
on  the  poor  babies,  and  carried  them  home  to  his  wife, 
who  brought  them  up. 

VI.     ROMULUS    BUILDS    ROME. 

REMUS  and  Romulus,  the  twins  who  had  been  nursed 
by  the  she-wolf,  grew  up  among  the  shepherds. 
They  were  tall  and  strong,  and  so  brave  that  all  their 
companions  were  ready  to  follow  them  anywhere.  One 
day,  when  they  were  watching  their  flocks  on  the  hillside, 
their  pasture  was  claimed  by  the  shepherds  who  were 
working  for  Numitor. 


26 


The  young  men  were  angry  at  this,  and  as  the  shep- 
herds would  not  go  away,  they  began  to  fight.  As  they 
were  only  two  against  many,  they  were  soon  made  pris- 
oners, and  were  led  before  Numitor. 

Their  strong  resemblance  to  the  royal  family  roused  the 
old  man's  suspicions.  He  began  to  question  them,  and 
soon  the  young  men  found  out  who  they  were.  Then 
they  called  together  a  few  of  their  bravest  companions, 
and  entered  the  city  of  Al'ba,  where  Amulius  dwelt. 
The  unjust  king,  taken  by  surprise,  was  easily  killed ; 
and  the  brothers  made  haste  to  place  their  grandfather, 
Numitor,  again  on  the  throne. 

Remus  and  Romulus  were  too  restless  and  fond  of  ad- 
venture to  enjoy  the  quiet  life  at  Alba,  so  they  soon  left 
their  grandfather's  court  to  found  a  kingdom  of  their  own. 
They  had  decided  that  they  would  settle  in  the  northern 
part  of  Latium,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  in  a  place 
where  seven  hills  rose  above  the  surrounding  plain. 
Here  the  two  brothers  said  that  they  would  build  their 
future  city. 

Before  beginning,  however,  they  thought  it  would  be 
well  to  give  the  city  a  name.  Each  wanted  the  honor  of 
naming  it,  and  each  wanted  to  rule  over  it  when  it  was 
built.  As  they  were  twins,  neither  was  willing  to  give 
up  to  the  other,  and  as  they  were  both  hot-tempered  and 
obstinate,  they  soon  began  to  quarrel. 

Their  companions  then  suggested  that  they  should  stand 
on  separate  hills  the  next  day,  and  let  the  gods  decide  the 
question  by  a  sign  from  the  heavens.  Remus,  watching 
the  sky  carefully,  suddenly  cried  that  he  saw  six  vultures. 
A  moment   later   Romulus   exclaimed  that  he  could  see 


27 

twelve;  so  the  naming  of  the  city  was  awarded  to  him, 
and  he  said  that  it  should  be  called  Rome. 

The  next  thing  was  to  draw  a  furrow  all  around  the  hill 
chosen  as  the  most  favorable  site.  The  name  of  this  hill 
was  the  Pal'a-tine.  Romulus,  therefore,  harnessed  a  bul- 
lock and  a  heifer  together,  and  began  to  plow  the  place 
where  the  wall  of  the  town  was  to  be  built.  Remus,  dis- 
appointed in  his  hopes  of  claiming  the  city,  began  to' 
taunt  his  brother,  and,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  Romulus  killed 
him. 

Although  this  was  a  horrible  crime,  Romulus  felt  no 
remorse,  and  went  on  building  his  capital.  All  the  hot- 
headed and  discontented  men  of  the  neighboring  king- 
doms soon  joined  him ;  and  the  new  city,  which  was 
founded  seven  hundred  and  fifty-three  years  before  Christ, 
thus  became  the  home  of  lawless  men. 

The  city  of  Rome  was  at  first  composed  of  a  series  of 
mud  huts,  and,  as  Romulus  had  been  brought  up  among 
shepherds,  he  was  quite'  satisfied  with  a  palace  thatched 
with  rushes.  As  the  number  of  his  subjects  increased, 
however,  the  town  grew  larger  and  richer,  and  before  long 
it  became  a  prosperous  city,  covering  two  hills  instead  of 
one.  On  the  second  hill  the  Romans  built  a  fortress,  or 
citadel,  which  was  perched  on  top  of  great  rocks,  and 
was  the  safest  place  in  case  of  an  attack  by  an  enemy. 

This  is  the  city  of  which  you  are  going  to  read  the  story. 
You  will  learn  in  these  pages  how  it  grew  in  wealth  and 
power  until  it  finally  became  the  most  important  place  in 
the  world,  and  won  for  itself  the  name  of  the  Eternal 
City. 


28 


VII.     THE   MAIDENS   CARRIED  OFF. 

AS  all  the  robbers,  murderers,  and  runaway  slaves  of 
the  kingdoms  near  by  had  come  to  settle  in  Rome, 
there  were  soon  plenty  of  men  there.  Only  a  few  of 
them,  however,  had  wives,  so  women  were  very  scarce 
indeed.  The  Romans,  anxious  to  secure  wives,  tried  to 
coax  the  girls  of  the  neighboring  states  to  marry  them ; 
but  as  they  had  the  reputation  of  being  fierce  and  law- 
less, their  wooing  was  all  in  vain. 

Romulus  knew  that  the  men  would  soon  leave  him  if 
they  could  not  have  wives,  so  he  resolved  to  help  them 
get  by  a  trick  what  they  could  not  secure  by  fair  means. 
Sending  out  trumpeters  into  all  the  neighboring  towns  and 
villages,  he  invited  the  people  to  come  to  Rome  and  see 
the  games  which  the  Romans  were  going  to  celebrate  in 
honor  of  one  of  their  gods. 

As  these  games  were  wrestling  and  boxing  matches, 
horse  and  foot  races,  and  many  other  tests  of  strength 
and  skill,  all  the  people  were  anxious  to  see  them ;  so 
they  came  to  Rome  in  crowds,  unarmed  and  in  holiday 
attire.  Whole  families  came  to  see  the  fun,  and  among 
the  spectators  were  many  of  the  young  women  whom  the 
Romans  wanted  for  wives. 

Romulus  waited  until  the  games  were  well  under  way. 
Then  he  suddenly  gave  a  signal,  and  all  the  young 
Romans  caught  up  the  girls  in  their  arms  and  carried 
them  off  to  the  houses,  in  spite  of  their  cries  and  struggles. 

The  fathers,  brothers,  and  levers  of  the  captive  maidens 
would  gladly  have  defended  them ;  but  they  had  come  to 


29 

the  games  unarmed,  and  could  not  strike  a  blow.  As  the 
Romans  refused  to  give  up  the  girls,  they  rushed  home 
for  their  weapons,  but  when  they  came  back,  the  gates 
of  Rome  were  closed. 

While  these  men  were  raging  outside  the  city,  the  cap- 
tive maidens  had  been  forced  to  marry  their  captors,  who 
now  vowed  that  no  one  should  rob  them  of  their  newly 
won  wives,  and  prepared  to  resist  every  attack.  Most 
of  the  women  that  had  been  thus  won  came  from  some 
Sa'bine  villages ;  and  the  Romans  had  easy  work  to  con- 
quer all  their  enemies  until  they  were  called  upon  to  fight 
the  Sabines.  The  war  with  them  lasted  a  long  time,  for 
neither  side  was  much  stronger  than  the  other. 

At  last,  in  the  third  year,  the  Sabines  secured  an 
entrance  to  the  citadel  by  bribing  Tar-pe'ia,  the  daughter 
of  the  gate  keeper.  This  girl  was  so  vain,  and  so  fond 
of  ornaments,  that  she  would  have  done  anything  to  get 
some.  She  therefore  promised  to  open  the  gates,  and 
let  the  Sabine  warriors  enter  during  the  night,  if  each 
of  them  would  give  her  what  he  wore  on  his  left  arm, 
meaning  a  broad  armlet  of  gold. 

The  Sabines  promised  to  give  her  all  she  asked,  and 
Tarpeia  opened  the  gates.  As  the  warriors  filed  past 
her,  she  claimed  her  reward ;  and  each  man,  scorning  her 
for  her  meanness,  flung  the  heavy  bronze  buckler,  which 
he  also  wore  on  his  left  arm,  straight  at  her. 

Tarpeia  sank  to  the  ground  at  the  first  blow,  and  was 
crushed  to  death  under  the  weight  of  the  heavy  shields. 
She  fell  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  rock,  or  cliff,  which  has 
ever  since  been  known  as  the  Tarpeian  Rock.  From 
the  top   of   this   cliff,    the    Romans   used   to   hurl    their 


<3°) 


3i 

criminals,  so  that  they  might  be  killed  by  the  fall.  In 
this  way  many  other  persons  came  to  die  on  the  spot 
where  the  faithless  girl  had  once  stood,  when  she  offered 
to  sell  the  city  to  the  enemy  for  the  sake  of  a  few  trinkets. 


&*i< 


VIII.     UNION   OF   SABINES   AND   ROMANS. 

THE  Sabine  army  had  taken  the  citadel,  thanks  to 
Tarpeia's  vanity ;  and  on  the  next  day  there  was  a 
desperate  fight  between  them  and  the  Romans  who  lived 
on  the  Palatine  hill.  First  the  Romans  and  then  the 
Sabines  were  beaten  back ;  and  finally  both  sides  paused 
to  rest. 

The  battle  was  about  to  begin  again,  and  the  two  armies 
were  only  a  few  feet  apart,  threatening  each  other  with 
raised  weapons  and  fiery  glances,  when  all  at  once  the 
women  rushed  out  of  their  houses,  and  flung  themselves 
between  the  warriors. 

In  frantic  terror  for  the  lives  of  their  husbands  on  one 
side,  and  of  their  fathers  and  brothers  on  the  other,  they 
wildly  besought  them  not  to  fight.  Those  who  had  little 
children  held  them  up  between  the  lines  of  soldiers,  and 
the  sight  of  these  innocent  babes  disarmed  the  rage  of 
both  parties. 

Instead  of  fighting  any  more,  therefore,  the  Romans 
and  Sabines  agreed  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  to  become 
friends.  A  treaty  was  made,  whereby  the  Sabines  were 
invited  to  come  and  live  in  Rome,  and  Romulus  even 
agreed  to  share  his  throne  with  their  king,  Ta'tius. 


32 

Thus  the  two  rival  nations  became  one,  and  when 
Tatius  died,  the  Sabines  were  quite  willing  to  obey 
Romulus,  who  was,  at  first,  an  excellent  king,  and  made 
many  wise  laws. 

As  it  was  too  great  a  task  for  him  to  govern  the  unruly 
people  alone,  Romulus  soon  formed  an  assembly  of  the 
oldest  and  most  respected  men,  to  whom  he  gave  the 
name  of  senators.  They  were  at  first  the  advisers  of 
the  king ;  but  in  later  times  they  had  the  right  to  make 
laws  for  the  good  of  the  people,  and  to  see  that  these 
laws  were  obeyed. 

>  The  younger  and  more  active  men  were  named  cav- 
aliers, or  knights.  These  were  the  men  who  fought  as 
horsemen  in  time  of  war ;  but  before  long  the  name  was 
given  only  to  those  who  had  a  certain  amount  of  wealth. 

The  sons  and  relatives  of  the  senators  and  knights,  and 
all  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Rome,  received  also  the 
name  of  Pa-tri'cians,  or  nobles ;  while  the  people  whom 
they  had  conquered,  or  who  came  to  dwell  there  later, 
were  called  Ple-be'ians,  or  ordinary  people. 

IX.     DEATH    OF    ROMULUS. 

WE  are  told  that  Romulus  reigned  over  the  Romans 
for  thirty-seven  years.  Although  he  was  at  first 
a  very  good  ruler,  he  soon  grew  proud  and  cruel.  As  he 
was  king,  he  wanted  to  have  his  own  way  in  everything ; 
and  as  he  soon  ceased  to  care  whether  what  he  wished 
would  be  good  for  the  Romans,  they  began  to  dislike  him. 
A  man  who  thinks  only  of  himself  can  have  no  real 


33 

friends,  and  Romulus  soon  stood  alone.  But  although 
the  people  hated  him,  they  feared  him  too  much  to  defy 
him  openly  and  show  him  their  displeasure. 

One  day,  when  Romulus  and  all  the  people  had  gone  to 
the  plain  beyond  the  citadel,  a  sudden  storm  arose.  The 
darkness  became  so  great  that  the  people  fled  in  terror, 
leaving  the  senators  and  king  to  look  out  for  themselves. 

When  the  storm  was  over,  the  Romans  all  came  back 
again.  To  their  surprise,  however,  Romulus  did  not 
appear.  He  was  sent  for,  but  no  one  could  find  him. 
The  people  were  amazed,  and  were  all  talking  about  his 
sudden  disappearance,  and  wondering  what  could  have 
become  of  him,  when  one  of  the  senators  stood  up  and 
called  for  silence. 

As  soon  as  he  could  make  himself  heard,  this  man  told 
the  assembled  Romans  that  he  had  seen  Romulus  being 
carried  up  to  heaven.  The  king,  he  said,  had  called  out 
that  he  was  going  to  live  with  the  gods,  and  wished  his 
people  to  worship  him  under  the  name  of  Qui-ri'nus. 

The  Romans  in  those  days  were  so  ignorant  and 
superstitious  that  they  believed  all  this  man  told  them. 
They  therefore  built  a  temple  on  the  hill  whence  the 
senator  said  that  Romulus  had  risen  to  heaven.  This  hill 
was  called  Mount  Quir'i-nal,  and  here  for  many  years  the 
Romans  worshiped  Romulus,  the  founder  of  their  city, 
and  their  first  king,  whom  they  now  called  Quirinus. 

In  later  times  the  Romans  did  not  believe  that  Romulus 
was  carried  up  to  heaven ;  and  many  of  them  thought  that 
the  senators  were  so  tired  of  the  king's  tyranny  that  they 
murdered  him  during  the  storm,  cut  his  body  to  pieces, 
and  carried  it  off,  hidden  under  their  long  mantles. 

STO.   OF   ROM.  — 3 


34 


X.     THE   STRANGE   SIGNS   OF   THE    ROMANS. 

ALTHOUGH  the  senator  had  told  the  Romans  that 
Romulus  had  gone,  never  to  return,  they  did  not  at 
once  elect  another  king.  They  were  afraid  that  their  first 
ruler  might  yet  come  back,  and  so  they  let  the  senate 
govern  the  city  for  a  while  alone. 

As  time  passed  on  without  bringing  any  news  of  the 
missing  king,  they  little  by  little  grew  sure  that  he  would 
never  return,  and  finally  they  elected  a  new  ruler.  This 
was  Nu'ma  Pom-pil'i-us,  a  Sabine,  who  was  wise,  just, 
gentle,  and  very  good. 

The  new  king  of  Rome  was  a  pious  man,  and  he  built 
many  temples  for  the  worship  of  the  gods.  One  of  these 
was  round,  and  was  set  aside  for  the  service  of  Vesta,  the 
goddess  of  the  hearth,  whose  fire  was  guarded  night  and 
day  by  the  Vestal  Virgins. 

Numa  also  built  a  square  temple,  in  honor  of  the  double- 
faced  god  Ja'nus.  This  god  was  supposed  to  be  the  patron 
of  all  beginnings,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  first 
month  of  the  year  was  called  January,  or  the  month  of 
Janus. 

The  Temple  of  Janus  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  gate- 
way ;  and  the  king  ordered  that  its  doors  should  be  open 
in  time  of  war,  so  that  the  people  could  go  in  freely  to 
pray,  and  closed  only  in  time  of  peace,  when  they  felt  no 
need  of  the  god's  help. 

The  second  king  of  Rome  was  so  wise  that  many  people 
fancied  that  he  was  advised  by  a  nymph,  or  water  fairy, 
called    E-ge'ri-a.    They    said  that  this  nymph  lived  in  a 


35 

fountain  near  Rome,  in  a  beautiful  spot  which  the  king 
liked  to  visit ;  and  whenever  he  went  there  to  be  quiet 
and  think,  they  declared  that  it  was  to  consult  Egeria. 

Numa  Pompilius  was  not  at  all  ambitious,  and  he  had 
no  wish  to  be  king.  He  had  accepted  the  office,  therefore, 
only  on  condition  that  the  people  would  obey  him,  and 
would  try  to  be  good. 

Now,  as  you  know,  the  Romans  were  a  fighting  people, 
and  until  then  they  had  always  been  at  war  with  some  of 
their  neighbors.  But  the  new  king  made  them  keep  the 
peace,  and  closed  the  gates  of  the  Temple  of  Janus.  Then 
he  taught  the  Romans  how  to  plow  their  fields,  bade  them 
sow  and  harvest  grain,  and  showed  them  that  farming  was 
a  far  better  and  wiser  occupation  than  war. 

The  people  were  very  superstitious,  and  thought  that 
the  stars,  the  weather,  the  flight  of  birds,  and  the  actions  of 
certain  animals  were  signs  of  what  would  happen,  if  you 
could  only  understand  them  aright.  Numa,  therefore,  said 
that  there  should  be  two  companies  of  priests,  whose  duty 
it  should  be  to  tell  what  the  gods  wished,  in  a  way  that  the 
people  could  understand. 

In  the  first  place,  there  were  the  Pon'tiffs,  —  priests  who 
had  general  charge  of  all  public  worship,  and  who  told 
the  people  which  days  would  be  lucky  and  which  ones 
unlucky. 

The  other  company  of  priests  were  called  Au'gurs. 
They  watched  the  changes  in  the  weather,  the  flight  of  the 
birds,  and  the  behavior  of  the  geese  which  they  kept  in  the 
temple.  By  observing  these  things  carefully,  they  thought 
they  could  tell  the  future ;  and  the  people  often  asked 
them  the  meaning  of    certain  signs,  such  as   the  sudden 


36 

appearance  of  some  bird  or  animal  on  their  right  or  left 
side  when  they  were  starting  out  on  a  journey. 

Of  course  all  this  was  mere  nonsense ;  yet  some  people 
still  believe  in  these  foolish  things.  You  have  all  heard 
the  saying,  "  See  a  pin  and  pick  it  up,  all  the  day  you'll 
have  good  luck,"  and  "  If  your  left  ear  burns,  some  one  is 
talking  ill  of  you."  It  was  such  signs  as  these  that  the 
Romans  believed  in;  and  the  augurs  were  supposed  to 
know  all  about  them,  and  to  explain  them  to  the  people. 

Besides  the  pontiffs  and  augurs,  there  was  a  lower  class 
of  priests,  called  Ha-rus'pi-ces,  who  told  the  future  by 
means  of  sacrifices.  In  those  days  the  Romans  used  to 
offer  up  bulls,  goats,  sheep,  and  other  animals,  on  the 
altars  of  their  gods.  It  was  the  duty  of  these  priests  to 
kill  the  animals,  open  them,  burn  certain  parts,  and  care- 
fully examine  the  insides  of  the  victims. 

The  haruspices  thought  that  they  could  see  signs  in  the 
bodies  of  the  animals  they  had  sacrificed,  and  that  these 
signs  gave  them  very  important  knowledge.  Of  course 
this  was  all  humbug,  but  the  early  Romans  believed  that 
the  priests  could  thus  learn  much  about  the  future. 

As  these  Romans  lived  a  long  time  ago,  and  had  few 
chances  to  learn,  their  mistakes  were  very  excusable ;  for 
you  know  it  is  no  shame  to  be  ignorant  when  one  has  no 
chance  to  learn.  But  it  is  a  very  great  shame  to  be  igno- 
rant in  such  a  country  as  this,  where  you  can  all  attend 
good  schools,  and  have  teachers  to  explain  anything  you 
do  not  understand.  Nowadays,  when  people  believe  in 
such  silly  things  as  signs,  they  are  said  to  be  superstitious. 
But  as  soon  as  they  learn  more,  they  see  how  foolish  they 
have  been. 


37 


XI.     THE   QUARREL   WITH    ALBA. 

FOR  a  long  time  the  Roman  people  were  in  the  habit  of 
burying  their  dead;  but  by  and  by  they  began  to 
burn  the  bodies,  and  keep  the  ashes  in  little  urns. 

When  Numa  Pompilius  died,  however,  the  people  laid 
his  body  in  a  stone  coffin.  Many  years  later,  so  the 
Romans  said,  a  farmer  in  plowing  came  across  the  tomb. 
He  opened  it,  and  found  in  the  coffin,  besides  the  king's 
bones,  a  number  of  old  books.  In  them  were  written  the 
laws  which  Numa  Pompilius  had  made  for  his  people,  and 
an  account,  of  the  religious  ceremonies  of  his  day. 

The  farmer,  unfortunately,  was  a  very  ignorant  man. 
He  fancied  that  such  old  and  musty  books  were  of  no 
value,  and  so  he  burned  them  up.  By  doing  this,  he  de- 
stroyed a  very  great  treasure ;  for  if  he  had  kept  those 
ancient  books,  we  would  know  much  more  about  the  early 
Romans  than  we  do  now. 

As  Numa  was  so  good  and  wise  a  king,  the  people 
felt  very  sorry  to  lose  him  ;  and  they  said  that  his  death 
was  mourned  even  by  the  water  nymph  Egeria.  The 
Roman  mothers  used  to  tell  their  children  that  this  nymph 
wept  so  many  tears  that  the  gods,  in  pity,  changed  her 
into  a  fountain  which  still  bears  her  name. 

Numa  Pompilius  had  no  son  to  take  his  place  on  the 
throne,  so  the  senators  elected  Tul'lus  Hos-til'i-us,  a  patri- 
cian, as  the  third  king  of  Rome.  Unlike  the  former 
king,  the  new  ruler  was  proud  and  quarrelsome;  and, 
as  he  enjoyed  fighting,  the  Romans  were  soon  called  to 
war. 


38 

Tullus  first  .quarreled  with  his  neighbors  in  Alba,  the 
city  where  Amulius  and  Numitor  had  once  reigned. 
Neither  people  was  willing  to  yield  to  the  other,  and  yet 
each  disliked  to  begin  the  bloodshed ;  for  they  saw  that 
they  were  about  equally  matched,  and  that  their  fighting 
would  end  only  with  their  lives.  As  they  could  not  wait 
forever,  the  two  parties  finally  decided  to  settle  their  quar- 
rel by  a  fair  fight  between  three  picked  warriors  on  either 
side. 

The  Albans  selected  as  their  champions  three  brothers 
named  Cu-ri-a'tius,  all  noted  for  their  strength,  their  cour- 
age, and  their  great  skill  in  handling  arms.  The  Romans 
made  an  equally  careful  choice,  and  selected  three  brothers 
from  the  Ho-ra'tius  family.  These  six  men  are  called  the 
Cu-ri-a'tii  and  the  Ho-ra'tii,  because  these  are  the  plural 
forms  of  their  names  in  Latin,  which  was  the  language 
of  both  Rome  and  Alba. 

Now,  in  the  peaceful  days  of  Numa  Pompilius,  long 
before  there  had  been  any  thought  of  war,  the  Romans 
and  Albans  had  often  visited  each  other,  and  the  Horatii 
and  Curiatii  were  great  friends.  Indeed,  the  two  families 
were  so  intimate  that  one  of  the  Curiatii  was  engaged  to 
marry  Ca-mil'la,  the  sister  of  the  Horatii. 

In  spite  of  this  long-standing  friendship,  both  families 
would  have  considered  it  a  disgrace  not  to  fight,  when 
selected  as  their  country's  champions  ;  and  in  spite  of 
Camilla's  tears  and  entreaties,  all  six  young  men  prepared 
for  the  coming  contest. 

Poor  Camilla  was  in  despair,  for  either  her  brothers 
would  kill  her  lover,  or  he  would  kill  them.  No  matter 
which  way  the  battle  ended,  it  could  not  fail  to  bring  sor- 


*    39 

row  and  loss  to  her,  for  she  was  deeply  attached  to  her 
brothers  and  lover  ;  and  she  tried  again  and  again  to  make 
them  give  up  this  fight. 


=>>*< 


XII.    THE     FIGHT     BETWEEN    THE    HORATII 
AND     THE     CURIATII. 

THE  Romans  and  Albans  had  all  assembled  to  view 
the  battle  between  their  champions,  and  were  eagerly- 
awaiting  the  struggle  which  was  to  decide  their  fate. 
They  had  agreed  that  the  nation  which  won  should  rule 
over  the  one  which  was  worsted  in  the  fight  that  was 
about  to  begin. 

Encouraged  to  do  their  best  by  the  feeling  that  so  much 
depended  upon  their  valor,  the  Horatii  and  Curiatii  met. 
The  Romans  and  Albans,  stationed  on  either  side,  watched 
the  encounter  with  breathless  interest  and  in  anxious 
silence. 

The  six  young  men  were  equally  brave  and  well  trained, 
but  before  long  two  of  the  Horatii  fell,  never  to  rise  again. 
Only  one  of  the  Roman  champions  was  left  to  uphold 
their  cause  ;  but  he  was  quite  unhurt,  while  all  three  of 
his  enemies  had  received  severe  wounds. 

The  Curiatii  were  still  able  to  fight,  however,  and  all 
three  turned  their  attention  to  the  last  Horatius.  They 
hoped  to  dispatch  him  quickly,  so  as  to  secure  the  victory 
for  Alba  before  the  loss  of  blood  made  them  too  weak 
to  fight. 

The  Roman  champion  knew  that  he  would  not  be  able 


40 

to  keep  these  three  foes  at  bay,  and  he  noticed  how  eager 
they  were  to  bring  the  battle  to  a  speedy  close..  To  pre- 
vent that,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  separate  them,  if  possi- 
ble, in  order  to  fight  them  one  by  one. 

He  therefore  made  believe  to  run  away,  and  was  fol- 
lowed, as  quickly  as  their  strength  allowed,  by  the  Curiatii, 
who  taunted  him  for  his  cowardice,  and  bade  him  stand 
and  fight.  The  three  wounded  men  ran  on,  as  fast  as 
they  could,  and  were  soon  some  distance  apart;  for  the 
one  whose  wounds  were  slightest  had  soon  left  the  others 
behind. 

Horatius  turned  his  head,  saw  that  his  enemies  were 
now  too  far  apart  to  help  one  another,  and  suddenly 
rushed  back  to  attack  them.  A  short,  sharp  encounter 
took  place,  and  the  first  of  the  Curiatii  fell,  just  as  one  of 
his  brothers  came  to  help  him. 

To  kill  this  second  foe,  weakened  as  he  was  by  the  loss 
of  blood  and  by  the  efforts  he  had  made  to  hurry,  was  but 
the  work  of  a  moment.  The  second  Curiatius  sank  be- 
neath his  enemy's  sword  just  as  the  last  of  the  Alban 
brothers  appeared  beside  him.  With  the  courage  of  de- 
spair, this  Curiatius  tried  to  strike  a  blow  for  his  country ; 
but  he  too  fell,  leaving  the  victory  to  Horatius,  the  sole 
survivor  among  the  six  brave  warriors  who  had  begun  the 
fight. 

The  Romans  had  seen  two  of  their  champions  fall,  and 
the  third  take  refuge  in  what  seemed  to  be  cowardly  flight; 
and  they  fancied  that  their  honor  and  liberty  were  both 
lost.  Imagine  their  joy,  therefore,  when  they  saw  Hora- 
tius turn,  kill  one  enemy  after  another,  and  remain  victor 
on  the  field !     Shout   after   shout   rent   the  air,   and  the 


41 

Romans  were  almost  beside  themselves  with  pride  and 
gladness  when  the  Alban  king  came  over  and  publicly 
said  that  he  and  his  people  would  obey  Rome. 

Leaving  the  Albans  -to  bury  their  dead  and  bewail  the 
loss  of  their  liberty,  the  Romans  led  their  young  cham- 
pion back  to  the  city,  with  every  sign  of  approval  and  joy. 
Compliments  and  praise  were  showered  upon  the  young 
man,  who,  in  token  of  victory,  had  put  on  the  embroidered 
mantle  of  one  of  his  foes. 

Every  one  received  him  joyfully  as  he  entered  the  city, 
— every  one  except  his  sister  Camilla.  When  she  saw  the 
mantle  which  she  had  woven  and  embroidered  for  her 
betrothed,  she  burst  into  tears.  In  her  sorrow  she  could 
not  hold  her  tongue,  and  bitterly  reproached  her  brother 
for  killing  her  lover. 

Horatius,  angry  at  being  thus  reproved,  roughly  bade 
Camilla  dry  her  tears,  and  told  her  she  was  not  worthy  of 
being  a  Roman,  since  she  welcomed  her  country's  triumph 
with  tears.  As  she  kept  on  crying,  after  this  harsh  re- 
proof, Horatius  suddenly  raised  his  hand'  and  struck  her 
a  deadly  blow  with  the  same  sword  which  had  taken  her 
lover's  life. 

The  sight  of  this  heartless  murder  made  the  Romans 
so  angry  that  they  wanted  to  put  the  young  man  to  death, 
in  spite  of  the  service  he  had  just  rendered  his  country. 
But  his  aged  father  implored  them  to  spare  his  life.  He 
said  that  two  of  his  sons  were  lying  on  the  battlefield, 
where  they  had  given  their  lives  for  Rome ;  that  his  lovely 
daughter  Camilla  was  no  more ;  and  that  the  people  ought 
to  leave  his  only  remaining  child  as  a  prop  for  his  old 
age. 


42 

When  Tullus  Hostilius  heard  this  pitiful  request,  he 
promised  to  forgive  Horatius  upon  condition  that  he 
would  lead  the  Roman  army  to  Alba,  and  raze  the  walls 
of  that  ancient  city,  as  had  been  agreed.  The  Albans 
were  then  brought  to  Rome,  and  settled  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cae'li-an  hill,  one  of  the  seven  heights  of  the  city. 

By  other  conquests,  Tullus  increased  the  number  of  his 
people  still  more.  But  as  the  streets  were  not  yet  paved, 
and  there  were  no  drains,  the  town  soon  became  very 
unhealthful.  A  plague  broke  out  among  the  people,  many 
sickened  and  died,  and  among  them  perished  Tullus  Hos- 
tilius. 


:>XK< 


XIII.     TARQUIN   AND   THE   EAGLE. 

AS  Tullus  Hostilius  was  dead,  the  Romans  wished  to 
elect  a  new  king ;  and  they  soon  chose  An'cus  Mar'- 
tius,  a  grandson  of  the  good  and  pious  Numa  Pompilius 
who  had  governed  them  so  well.  The  new  ruler  was  very 
wise  and  good.  Although  he  could  not  keep  peace  with 
all  his  neighbors,  as  his  grandfather  had  done,  he  never 
went  to  war  except  when  compelled  to  do  so. 

There  were  now  so  many  people  in  Rome  that  it  was 
not  as  easy  to  govern  them  as  before.  In  fact,  there  were 
so  many  wrongdoers  that  Ancus  was  soon  forced  to  build 
a  prison,  in  which  the  criminals  could  be  put  while  await- 
ing judgment.  The  prison  was  made  as  solid  as  possi- 
ble, with  thick  stone  walls.  *•  It  was  so  strong  that  it  still 
exists,  and  one  can  even  now  visit  the  deep  and  dark  dun- 


43 

geons  where  the  prisoners  used  to  be  kept  more  than  six 
hundred  years  before  Christ. 

During  the  reign  of  Ancus  Martius,  as  in  those  of  the 
kings  before  him,  many  strangers  came  to  settle  in  Rome. 
They  were  attracted  thither  by  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
city,  by  the  freedom  which  the  citizens  enjoyed,  and  by 
the  chances  offered  to  grow  rich  and  powerful. 

Among  these  strangers  was  a  very  wealthy  Greek,  who 
had  lived  for  some  time  in  a  neighboring  town  called  Tar- 
quin'i-i.  This  man  is  known  in  history  as  Tar-quin'i-us 
Pris'cus,  or  simply  Tar'quin,  a  name  given  him  to  remind 
people  where  he  had  lived  before  he  came  to  Rome. 

As  Tarquin  was  rich,  he  did  not  come  to  Rome  on  foot, 
but  rode  in  a  chariot  with  his  wife  Tan'a-quil.  As  they 
were  driving  along,  an  eagle  came  into  view,  and,  after 
circling  for  a  while  above  them,  suddenly  swooped  down 
and  snatched  Tarquin's  cap  off  his  head.  A  moment 
later  it  flew  down  again,  and  replaced  the  cap  on  Tar- 
quin's head,  without  doing  him  any  harm. 

This  was  a  very  strange  thing  for  an  eagle  to  do,  as 
you  can  see,  and  Tarquin  wondered  what  it  could  mean. 
After  thinking  the  matter  over  for  a  while,  he  asked  his 
wife,  Tanaquil,  who  knew  a  great  deal  about  signs ;  and 
she  said  it  meant  that  he  would  sometime  be  king  of 
Rome.  This  prophecy  pleased  Tarquin  very  much,  be- 
cause he  was  ambitious  and  fond  of  ruling. 

Tarquin  and  his  wife  were  so  rich  and  powerful  that 
they  were  warmly  welcomed  by  the  Romans.  They  took 
up  their  abode  in  the  city,  spent  their  money  freely,  tried 
to  make  themselves  as  agreeable  as  possible,  and  soon 
made  a  number  of  friends  among  the  patricians. 


(44) 


Tarquin  and  the  Eagle. 


45 

Ancus  Martius  became  acquainted  with  Tarquin,  and, 
finding  him  a  good  adviser,  often  sent  for  him  to  talk 
about  the  affairs  of  state.  Little  by  little,  the  man  grew 
more  and  more  intimate  with  the  king ;  and  when  Ancus 
died,  after  a  reign  of  about  twenty-four  years,  no  one  was 
surprised  to  hear  that  he  had  left  his  two  young  sons  in 
Tarquin's  care. 


>XK< 


XIV.     THE   ROMAN   YOUTHS. 

AS  you  have  seen,  the  Romans  were  generally  victori- 
ous in  the  wars  which  they  waged  against  their 
neighbors.  They  were  so  successful,  however,  only  be- 
cause they  were  remarkably  well  trained. 

Not  very  far  from  the  citadel  there  was  a  broad  plain, 
bordered  on  one  side  by  the  Tiber.  This  space  had  been 
set  aside,  from  the  very  beginning,  as  an  exercising  ground 
for  the  youths  of  Rome,  who  were  taught  to  develop  their 
muscles  in  every  way.  The  young  men  met  there  every 
day,  to  drill,  run  races,  wrestle,  box,  and  swim  in  the 
Tiber. 

These  daily  exercises  on  the  Field  of  Mars,  as  this  plain 
was  called,  soon  made  them  brave,  hardy,  and  expert;  and, 
as  a  true  Roman  considered  it  beneath  him  to  do  anything 
but  fight,  the  king  thus  had  plenty  of  soldiers  at  his  dis- 
posal. 

Ancus  Martius  had  greatly  encouraged  the  young  men 
in  all  these  athletic  exercises,  and  often  went  out  to  watch 
them  as  they  went   through   their   daily  drill.      He  also 


46 

took  great  interest  in  the  army,  and  divided  the  soldiers 
into  regiments,  or  legions  as  they  were  called  in  Rome. 

As  the  city  was  on  a  river,  about  fifteen  miles  from 
the  sea,  Ancus  thought  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing  to 
have  a  seaport  connected  with  it ;  so  he  built  a  harbor  at 
Os'ti-a,  a  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber.  Between  the 
city  and  the  port  there  was  a  long,  straight  road,  which 
was  built  with  the  greatest  care,  and  made  so  solidly  that 
it  is  still  in  use  to-day. 

To  last  so  long,  a  road  had  to  be  made  in  a  different 
way  from  those  which  are  built  to-day.  The  Romans 
used  to  dig  a  deep  trench,  as  long  and  as  wide  as  the  road 
they  intended  to  make.  Then  the  trench  was  nearly  filled 
with  stones  of  different  sizes,  packed  tightly  together. 
On  top  of  this  thick  layer  they  laid  great  blocks  of  stone, 
forming  a  strong  and  even  pavement.  A  road  like  this, 
with  a  solid  bed  several  feet  deep,  could  not  be  washed 
out  by  the  spring  rains,  but  was  smooth  and  hard  in  all 
seasons. 

Little  by  little  the  Romans  built  many  other  roads, 
which  ran  out  of  Rome  in  all  directions.  From  this  arose 
the  saying,  which  is  still  very  popular  in  Europe,  and 
which  you  will  often  hear,  "  All  roads  lead  to  Rome." 

The  most  famous  of  all  the  Roman  roads  was  the  Ap'- 
p^an  Way,  leading  from  Rome  southeast  to  Brun-du'si-um, 
a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles.  This  road,  although 
built  about  two  thousand  years  ago,  is  still  in  good  condi- 
tion, showing  how  careful  the  Romans  were  in  their  work. 


47 


XV.     THE   KING   OUTWITTED. 

TARQUIN  was  the  guardian  of  the  sons  of  Ancus 
Martius ;  but  as  he  was  anxious  to  be  king  of  Rome 
himself,  he  said  that  these  lads  were  far  too  young  to 
reign  wisely,  and  soon  persuaded  the  people  to  give  him 
the  crown  instead* 

Although  Tarquin  thus  gained  his  power  wrongfully, 
he  proved  to  be  a  very  good  king,  and  did  all  he  could 
to  improve  and  beautify  the  city  of  Rome.  To  make  the 
place  more  healthful,  and  to  prevent  another  plague  like 
the  one  which  had  killed  Tullus  Hostilius,  he  built  a  great 
drain,  or  sewer,  all  across  the  city. 

This  drain,  which  is  called  the  Clo-a'ca  Max'i-ma,  also 
served  to  carry  off  the  water  from  the  swampy  places 
between  the  hills  on  which  Rome  was  built.  As  Tarquin 
knew  that  work  properly  done  will  last  a  long  while,  he 
was  very  particular  about  the  building  of  this  sewer.  /He 
had  it  made  so  large  that  several  teams  of  oxen  could  pass 
in  it  abreast,  and  the  work  was  so  well  done  that  the 
drain  is  still  perfect  to-day,  although  the  men  who  planned 
and  built  it  have  been  dead  more  than  twenty-four  hun- 
dred years.  Strangers  who  visit  Rome  are  anxious  to  see 
this~arTcient  piece  of  masonry,  and  all  of  them  praise  the 
builders  who  did  their  work  so  carefully^ 

One  place  which  this  great  sewer  drained  was  the 
Fo'rum,  —  an  open  space  which  was  used  as  a  market 
place,  and  which  Tarquin  surrounded  with  covered  walks. 
Here  the  Romans  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  buy  and 
sell,  and  to  talk  over  the  news  of  the  day.     In  later  times, 


48 


they  came  here  also  to  discuss  public  affairs,  and  near  the 
center  of  the  Forum  was  erected  a  stand  from  which  men 
could  make  speeches  to  the  people. 

Tarquin  also  built  a  huge  open-air  circus  for  the  Ro- 
mans, who  loved  to  see  all  sorts  of  games  and  shows.  In 
order  to  make  the  city  safer,  he  began  to  build  a  new  and 
solid  fortress  in  place  of  the  old  citadel.  This  fortress 
was  sometimes  called  the  Cap'i-tol,  and  hence  the  hill  on 
which  it  stood  was  named  the  Cap'i-to-line.     The  king  also 


f^M^^ 


Roman    Lictors. 


gave  orders  that  a  great  wall  should  be  built  all  around 
the  whole  city  of  Rome. 

As  this  wall  was  not  finished  when  Tarquin  died,  it  had 
to  be  completed  by  the  next  king.  The  city  was  then  so 
large  that  it  covered  all  seven  of  the  hills  of  Rome,  —  the 
Palatine,  Capitoline,  Quirinal,  Caelian,  Av'en-tine,  Vim'i- 
nal,  and  Es'qui-line. 

Soon  after  Tarquin  came  to  the  throne,  he  increased  the 


49 

size  of  the  army.  He  also  decided  that  he  would  always 
be  escorted  by  twelve  men  called  Lic'tors,  each  of  whom 
carried  a  bundle  of  rods,  in  the  center  of  which  there  was 
a  sharp  ax.  The  rods  meant  that  those  who  disobeyed 
would  be  punished  by  a  severe  whipping;  and  the  axes, 
that  criminals  would  have  their  heads  cut  off. 

During  the  reign  of  Tarquin,  the  augurs  became  bolder 
and  bolder,  and  often  said  that  the  signs  were  against  the 
things  which  the  king  wanted  to  do.  This  made  Tarquin 
angry,  and  he  was  very  anxious  to  get  rid  of  the  stubborn 
priests ;  for,  by  pretending  that  they  knew  the  will  of  the 
gods,  they  were  really  more  powerful  than  he. 

The  chief  of  these  augurs,  At/tus  Na'vi-us,  was  one  of 
the  most  clever  men  of  his  time ;  and  Tarquin  knew  that 
if  he  could  only  once  prove  him  wrong,  he  would  be  able 
to  disregard  what  any  of  them  said.  The  king  therefore 
sent  for  the  augur  one  day,  and  asked  him  to  decide 
whether  the  thing  he  was  thinking  about  could  be  done  or 
not. 

The  augur  consulted  the  usual  signs,  and  after  due 
thought  answered  that  the  thing  could  be  done. 

"  But,"  said  Tarquin,  drawing  a  razor  and  a  pebble  out 
from  under  the  wide  folds  of  his  mantle,  "  I  was  wonder- 
ing whether  I  could  cut  this  pebble  in  two  with  this  razor." 

"  Cut !  "  said  the  augur  boldly. 

We  are  told  that  Tarquin  obeyed,  and  that,  to  his  in- 
tense surprise,  the  razor  divided  the  pebble  as  neatly  and 
easily  as  if  it  had  been  a  mere  lump  of  clay.  After  this 
test  of  the  augurs'  power,  Tarquin  no  longer  dared  to 
oppose  their  decisions ;  and  although  he  was  king,  he  did 
nothing  without  the  sanction  of  the  priests. 

STO.    OF   ROM.  4 


5o 


XVI.     THE    MURDER   OF   TARQUIN. 

TARQUIN  was  called  upon  to  wage  many  wars  during 
his  reign.  He  once  brought  home  a  female  prisoner, 
whom  he  gave  to  his  wife  as  a  servant.  This  was  nothing 
unusual,  for  the  Romans  were  in  the  habit  of  making 
slaves  ~of  their  war  prisoners,  who  were  forced  to  spend 
the  rest  of  their  lives  in  serving  their  conquerors. 

Shortly  after  her  arrival  in  Tarquin's  house,  this  woman 
gave  birth  to  a  little  boy ;  and  Tanaquil,  watching  the 
babe  one  day,  was  surprised  to  see  a  flame  hover  over  its 
head  without  doing  it  any  harm.  Now  Tanaquil  was  very 
superstitious,  and  fancied  that  she  could  tell  the  meaning 
of  every  sign  that  she  saw.  She  at  once  exclaimed  that 
she  knew  the  child  was  born  to  greatness;  and  she  adopted 
him  as  her  own  son,  calling  him  Ser'vi-us  Tul'li-us. 

The  child  of  a  slave  thus  grew  up  in  the  king's  house, 
and  when  he  had  reached  manhood  he  married  Tanaquil's 
daughter.  This  marriage  greatly  displeased  the  sons  of 
Ancus  Martius.  The  young  princes  had  hoped  that  they 
would  be  chosen  kings  as  soon  as  Tarquin  died ;  but  they 
saw  that  Servius  Tullius  was  always  preferred  to  them. 
They  now  began  to  fear  that  he  would  inherit  the  throne, 
and  they  soon  learned  to  hate  him. 

To  prevent  Servius  from  ever  being  king,  they  resolved 
to  get  rid  of  Tarquin  and  to  take  possession  of  the  crown 
before  their  rival  had  any  chance  to  get  ahead  of  them. 
A  murderer  was  hired  to  kill  the  king ;  and  as  soon  as  he 
had  a  good  chance,  he  stole  into  the  palace  and  struck 
Tarquin  with  a  hatchet. 


5i 

As  the  murderer  fled,  Tarquin  sank  to  the  ground ;  but 
in  spite  of  this  sudden  attempt  to  murder  her  husband, 
Tanaquil  did  not  lose  her  presence  of  mind.  She  promptly 
had  him  placed  upon  a  couch,  where  he  died  a  few  mo- 
ments later.  Then  she  sent  word  to  the  senate  that 
Tarquin  was  only  dangerously  ill,  and  wished  Servius  to 
govern  in  his  stead  until  he  was  better. 

She  managed  so  cleverly  that  no  one  suspected  that 
the  king  was  dead.  The  sons  of  Ancus  Martius  fled 
from  Rome  when  they  heard  that  Tarquin  was  only 
wounded,  and  during  their  absence  Servius  Tullius  ruled 
the  Romans  for  more  than  a  month. 

He  was  so  wise  and  careful  in  all  his  dealings  with  the 
people  that  they  elected  him  as  the  sixth  king  of  Rome, 
when  they  finally  learned  that  Tarquin  was  dead.  It  was 
thus  that  the  two  wicked  princes  lost  all  right  to  the  king- 
dom which  they  had  tried  to  obtain  by  such  a  base  crime 
as  murder. 

XVII.    THE  UNGRATEFUL   CHILDREN. 

ALTHOUGH  Servius  Tullius  was  the  son  of  a  slave, 
and  had  won  the  crown  by  a  trick,  he  proved  an  ex- 
cellent king.  As  he  had  once  been  poor  himself,  he  was 
very  thoughtful  for  the  lower  classes  of  Rome.  He  not 
only  helped  the  poor  to  pay  their  debts,  but  also  gave 
orders  that  some  of  the  public  land  should  be  divided 
among  the  plebeians,  so  that  they  could  support  themselves 
by  farming. 

Once  a  slave  himself,  he  also  took  pity  upon  the  hard 


52 

life  of  the  Roman  slaves,  and  made  laws  in  their  favor. 
He  even  said  that  they  should  be  set  free  if  they  served 
their  masters  faithfully  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  or  if 
they  paid  a  sufficient  sum  of  money. 

Slaves  who  had  thus  gained  their  liberty  were  called 
freedmen.  Although  they  often  staid  in  their  masters' 
employ,  they  were  no  longer  treated  as  slaves,  but  were 
paid  for  all  they  did.  Little  by  little  the  number  of  these 
freedmen  grew  greater,  and  slavery  was  no  longer  con- 
sidered so  terrible,  since  there  was  a  chance  of  some  time 
being  free. 

By  the  order  of  Servius  Tullius,  all  the  Romans  came 
together  once  in  every  five  years  on  the  Field  of  Mars. 
Here  they  were  carefully  counted,  and  every  man  was 
called  upon  to  give  an  exact  account  of  his  family  and  of 
his  property.  In  this  way,  the  king  knew  just  how  many 
patricians,  plebeians,  freedmen,  and  slaves  were  to  be  found 
in  Rome ;  and  the  process  of  thus  counting  the  people  was 
called  "  taking  a  census." 

Before  the  assembled  Romans  were  allowed  to  leave  the 
Field  of  Mars  and  return  to  their  homes,  the  priests  held 
a  religious  ceremony  to  purify  the  whole  state.  This  was 
called  a  Lus'trum.  As  five  years  elapsed  from  one  such 
ceremony  to  another,  the  Romans  sometimes  counted  time 
by  lustrums,  just  as  we  use  the  word  "decade"  instead  of 
ten  years. 

Servius  would  probably  have  made  many  more  reforms 
in  Rome,  had  he  not  been  forced  to  lay  down  the  crown 
with  his  life,  as  you  will  soon  see.  Although  he  had  no 
sons  to  succeed  him,  he  had  two  grown-up  daughters,  of 
very  different  dispositions.     One  of  them  was  very  gentle 


53 

and  good,  while  the  other  was  wicked  and  had  a  violent 
temper. 

Servius  was  anxious  to  settle  both  these  daughters 
comfortably,  so  he  gave  them  in  marriage  to  the  sons 
of  Tarquin.  These  young  men  were  also  very  different 
in  character.  One  was  so  cruel  and  proud  that  he  came 
to  be  called  Tarquin  the  Haughty,  or  Tar-quin'i-us 
Su-per'bus,  in  order  to  distinguish  him  from  his  father, 
Tarquin  the  Elder.  To  this  prince  Servius  gave  his  gen- 
tle daughter. 

The  wicked  daughter,  Tul'li-a,  was  then  provided  with 
a  good-natured  husband ;  but  she  despised  him  on  account 
of  his  kindly  and  gentle  ways.  Tullia  and  Tarquinius 
Superbus  were  so  alike  in  character  and  tastes  that  they 
soon  fell  in  love  with  each  other  and  wished  to  marry. 

As  they  were  both  married  already,  it  was  very  wicked 
for  them  even  to  think  of  such  a  thing ;  but  they  were  so 
bad  that  they  agreed  to  murder  their  gentle  partners,  and 
then  to  become  husband  and  wife.  This  plan  was  quickly 
carried  out ;  and,  as  one  wicked  deed  leads  to  another, 
they  were  no  sooner  married  than  they  began  to  plot  a 
second  crime. 

Both  Tarquinius  Superbus  and  Tullia,  his  wife,  were 
very  ambitious,  and  anxious  to  occupy  the  throne  ;  and 
they  soon  arranged  to  murder  Servius  Tullius,  so  that 
they  might  reign  in  his  stead. 

According  to  the  plan  which  they  had  made,  Tarquin 
drove  off  to  the  senate  one  day ;  and  there,  walking  boldly 
up  to  Servius  Tullius,  he  publicly  claimed  the  crown.  He 
said  that  he  had  the  best  right  to  it  because  he  was  the 
true  heir  of  Tarquin  the  Elder. 


54 

Servius  paid  no  heed  to  this  insolent  demand,  and 
Tarquin,  seeing  that  his  father-in-law  did  not  move,  sud- 
denly caught  him  by  the  feet,  dragged  him  from  the 
throne,  and  flung  him  down  the  stone  stairs  into  the 
street. 

The  terrible  fall  stunned  the  king,  and  for  a  while 
every  one  thought  that  he  was  killed.  His  friends  were 
about  to  carry  him  away,  when  he  slowly  opened  his  eyes. 
Tarquin,  seeing  that  Servius  was  not  dead,  now  gave 
orders  to  his  servants  to  kill  the  king,  and  loudly  pro- 
claimed that  any  one  who  ventured  to  interfere  should 
die  too. 

Frightened  by  this  terrible  threat,  none  of  the  Romans 
dared  to  move,  and  Servius  was  killed  before  their  eyes. 
They  did  not  even  venture  to  touch  the  bleeding  and  life- 
less body  of  their  murdered  king,  but  left  it  lying  in  the 
middle  of  the  street.  Then  they  obediently  followed  the 
cruel  Tarquin  into  the  senate  house,  where  he  took  his 
place  on  the  vacant  throne,  as  the  seventh  king  of  Rome. 


>XKc 


XVIII.     THE   MYSTERIOUS    BOOKS. 

IN  the  mean  while,  Tullia  was  anxiously  awaiting  news 
of  her  father's  murder,  and  was  wondering  if  anything 
had  happened  to  spoil  the  plans  which  she  had  helped 
her  husband  to  make.  Too  impatient  to  wait  any  longer, 
she  finally  ordered  her  servants  to  get  her  chariot  ready, 
and  then  drove  off  to  find  Tarquin. 

When  the  chariot   had   turned  into  the  narrow  street 


55 

which  led  to  the  senate,  the  driver  suddenly  pulled  up 
his  horses.  Tullia  then  asked  him  why  he  did  not  go 
on.  The  man  told  her  that  he  could  not  pass  because 
the  king's  body  lay  across  the  street ;  but  when  she  heard 
this,  she  haughtily  bade  him  drive  over  it.  We  are  told 
that  the  inhuman  daughter  was  splashed  with  her  father's 
blood  when  she  appeared  in  the  senate  to  congratulate  her 
wicked  husband  upon  the  success  of  their  plan.  This  hor- 
rible act  of  cruelty  was  never  forgotten  in  Rome,  and  the 
street  where  the  murder  took  place  was  known  as  Wicked 
Street,  and  was  always  considered  unlucky. 

The  new  king  soon  showed  that  he  had  a  full  right  to 
the  surname  of  Superbus,  which  meant  insolent  as  well  as 
haughty.  When  the  people  came  to  ask  his  permission 
to  bury  the  dead  king,  he  said,  "  Romulus,  the  founder 
of  Rome,  did  without  a  funeral;  Servius  needs  none." 

A  man  who  did  not  scruple  to  commit  murder  in  order 
to  obtain  the  throne,  must  have  been  very  bad  at  heart, 
and  Tarquin  soon  became  extremely  cruel  in  the  way  he 
governed  the  people  of  Rome.  The  poor  were  obliged  to 
work  day  and  night  on  the  buildings  which  he  wished  to 
erect ;  and  he  treated  many  of  the  nobles  so  rudely  that 
they  left  Rome  and  went  to  live  in  the  neighboring  city  of 
Ga'bi-i. 

One  of  the  principal  edifices  built  by  Tarquin,  at  the 
cost  of  so  much  suffering  to  the  poor,  was  a  temple  for 
the  service  of  the  god  Ju'pi-ter.  It  seems  that  as  the 
builders  were  digging  for  the  foundations,  they  suddenly 
came  across  a  very  well-preserved  skull. 

As  the  Romans  were  very  superstitious,  they  immedi- 
ately sent  for  the  augurs  to  tell  them  the  hidden  mean- 


56 

ing  of  the  discovery.  After  some  thought,  the  augurs  said 
it  was  a  sign  that  the  gods  were  going  to  make  this  place 
the  head  of  the  world. 

Now  the  Latin  word  for  head  is  caput,  and  the  Romans 
in  later  times  thought  that  this  was  what  gave  its  name  to 
the  Capitol,  as  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  was  always  called. 
This  famous  building  stood  on  the  Capitoline  hill,  not  far 
from  the  citadel  of  which  you  have  already  heard.  Every 
year  there  was  a  great  festival,  in  which  all  the  Romans 
marched  up  the  hill  and  went  into  the  temple.  There,  in 
the  presence  of  the  people,  one  of  the  priests  drove  a  nail 
into  the  wall,  to  keep  a  record  of  the  time  which  had 
passed  since  the  building  of  the  temple. 

Tarquinius  Superbus  had  partly  finished  the  Capitol, 
when  he  received  a  very  strange  visit.  The  Sib'yl,  or 
prophetess,  who  dwelt  in  a  cave  at  Cu'mae,  came  to  see 
him.  She  carried  nine  rolls,  or  books,  which  she  offered 
to  sell  to  him  for  three  hundred  pieces  of  gold. 

Tarquin  asked  what  the  books  contained,  and  she  replied 
that  it  was  prophecies  about  Rome.  Then  he  wished  to 
see  them,  but  the  Sibyl  would  not  let  him  look  at  a  single 
page  until  he  had  bought  them.  Now,  although  the  king 
knew  that  she  was  a  prophetess,  he  did  not  want  to  pay 
so  much ;  and  when  he  told  the  woman  so,  she  went  away 
in  anger. 

Not  long  after,  the  Sibyl  again  visited  Tarquin.  This 
time  she  brought  only  six  books,  for  which,  however,  she 
demanded  the  same  price  as  for  the  nine.  Tarquin,  sur- 
prised, asked  her  what  had  become  of  the  other  volumes ; 
and  she  answered  shortly  that  they  were  burned. 

Tarquin  again  wanted  to  see  the  books,  and  was  again 


(57> 


58 

refused  even  a  glimpse  into  them.  Then  he  found  fault 
with  the  price,  and  the  Sibyl  grew  angry,  and  went  away 
with  her  six  volumes. 

Although  the  king  fancied  that  he  would  never  see  her 
again,  she  soon  returned  with  only  three  volumes.  She 
said  that  all  the  others  were  burned,  and  asked  him  three 
hundred  pieces  of  gold  for  those  that  were  left.  The  king, 
awed  by  her  manner,  bought  them  without  further  ado. 

When  the  priests  opened  the  mysterious  volumes,  they 
said  that  the  prophecies  concerning  Rome  were  too  won- 
derful for  any  one  but  themselves  to  see.  The  books  were 
therefore  placed  in  a  stone  chest  in  the  Capitol,  where  the 
priests  guarded  them  night  and  day. 

From  time  to  time,  whenever  any  great  trouble  occurred, 
and  the  people  did  not  know  what  to  do,  the  augurs  peeped 
into  these  volumes.  Here  they  said  they  always  found 
some  good  advice ;  but  we  now  think  that  they  pretended 
to  read  from  the  volume  whatever  they  wished  the  Romans 
to  do. 


XIX.     TARQUIN'S    POPPIES. 

TARQUINIUS  SUPERBUS,  the  seventh  king  of 
Rome,  was  not  only  a  builder,  but  also  a  great  warrior. 
During  his  reign  he  made  war  against  the  Vol'sci-ans, 
and  he  also  besieged  the  city  of  Gabii,  where  the  patricians 
who  did  not  like  him  had  taken  refuge. 

This  city  was  so  favorably  situated,  and  so  well  fortified, 
that  Tarquin  could  not  make  himself  master  of  it,  although 
his  army  was  unusually  well  trained. 


59 

Seeing  that  he  could  not  take  it  by  force,  he  soon  decided 
to  try  to  win  it  by  fraud.  He  therefore  directed  his  son, 
Sex'tus  Tarquinius,  to  go  to  Gabii,  and  win  admittance  to 
the  city  by  saying  that  the  king  had  ill-treated  him,  and 
that  he  had  come  to  ask  protection.  Sextus  was  as  wicked 
as  his  father,  so  he  did  not  scruple  to  tell  this  lie ;  and  he 
set  out  immediately  for  Gabii. 

When  the  people  heard  the  pitiful  tale  which  Sextus 
told,  they  not  only  let  him  into  the  city,  but  also  revealed 
to  him  their  secrets.  Then  they  made  him  general  of 
their  army,  and  even  gave  him  the  keys  of  the  gates. 
Sextus  was  now  all-powerful  at  Gabii,  but  he  did  not  know 
exactly  what  to  do  next,  so  he  sent  a  messenger  to  his 
father,  to  tellhim  all  that  had  happened,  and  to  ask  his 
advice. 

The  messenger  found  Tarquin  in  his  garden,  slowly 
walking  up  and  down  between  the  flower  borders.  He 
delivered  all  his  messages,  and  then  asked  what  reply  he 
should  carry  back  to  Sextus  at  Gabii. 

Instead  of  answering  the  man,  Tarquin  slowly  turned 
and  walked  down  the  garden  path,  striking  off  the  heads 
of  the  tallest  poppies  with  his  staff.  The  messenger 
waited  for  a  while  in  silence,  and  then  again  asked  what 
answer  he  should  take  to  his  master. 

Tarquin  came  back  to  him,  and  carelessly  said :  "  Go 
back  to  Gabii,  and  tell  my  son  that  I  had  no  answer  to 
send  him,  but  be  sure  to  tell  him  where  you  found  me,  and 
what  I  was  doing." 

The  man  went  back  to  Sextus,  and  reported  all  he  had 
seen.  After  thinking  the  matter  over  for  a  little  while, 
Sextus  understood  why  no  verbal  message  had  been  sent. 


r 


60 


It  was  for  fear  their  plans  would  become  known ;  and 
then  he  decided  that  his  father,  by  striking  off  the  heads 
of  the  tallest  flowers,  meant  to  advise  him  to  get  rid  of  the 
principal  men  in  the  city. 

This  advice  pleased  the  young  prince,  who  now  sought, 
and  soon  found,  a  pretext  for  getting  rid  of  all  the  most 
prominent  people  of  Gabii,  without  arousing  any  sus- 
picions. When  all  the  bravest  men  had  been  either  exiled 
or  slain,  there  was  no  one  left  who  dared  to  oppose  him. 
Then  Sextus  opened  the  gates  of  the  city  and  handed  it 
over  to  the  Romans. 


**<c 


XX.     THE   ORACLE   OF    DELPHI. 

A  WICKED  man  is  never  really  happy ;  and  Tarquin, 
who  had  committed  so  many  crimes,  could  not  find 
much  enjoyment  in  life.  His  conscience  troubled  him, 
his  sleep  was  haunted  by  bad  dreams,  and  he  felt  so 
restless  that  he  did  not  know  what  to  do. 

As  the  Romans  believed  that  dreams  were  sent  by  their 
gods  to  warn  them  of  the  future,  Tarquin  was  very  anxious 
to  have  an  explanation  of  the  visions  which  disturbed  his" 
rest.  He  asked  the  Roman  priests,  but  they  failed  to 
give  him  a  satisfactory  answer;  so  he  decided  to  send 
to  Pel'phi,  in  Greece,  and  to  ask  the  noted  oracle  there 
to  interpret  these  bad  dreams. 

Now,  as  you  may  know,  Delphi  was  a  place  in  the 
mountains  of  Greece  where  there  was  a  temple  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  Apollo,  god  of  the  sun.     In  this  temple 


6i 


lived  a  priestess  called  the  Pyth'o-ness,  who  was  supposed 
to  converse  with  the  gods,  and  to  make  their  wishes  known 
to  all  who  consulted  her.  Any  priest  who  did  this  was 
known  as  an  oracle ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  answers 
given  out  were  also  called  oracles. 

Now  one  of  Tarquin's  crimes  was  the  murder  of  a 
nephew.  His  widowed  sister,  it  seems,  had  two  sons, 
who  were  very  rich.  As  the  king  wanted  to  get  their 
money,  he  killed  one  of  them,  and  spared  the  other  only 
because  he  thought  him  an  idiot.  In  fact,  the  Romans 
used  to  say  that  this  nephew's  name,  Bru'tus,  was  given 
him  because  of  his  brutelike  stupidity.  The  young  man, 
however,  was  only  pretending  to  be  stupid ;  he  was  really 
very  intelligent,  and  was  patiently  waiting  for  a  chance 
to  avenge  his  brother's  death. 

Tarquinius  Superbus  selected  two  of  his  own  sons  to 
carry  his  offerings  to  the  temple  of  Delphi,  and  sent 
Brutus  with  them  as  an  attendant.  After  giving  the 
king's  offerings,  and  obtaining  an  oracle  for  him,  the 
three  young  men  resolved  to  question  the  Pythoness 
about  their  own  future. 

Each  gave  a  present  to  the  priestess.  The  two  princes 
offered  rich  gifts,  but  Brutus  gave  only  the  staff  which  he 
had  used  on  the  journey  thither.  Although  this  present 
seemed  very  mean,  compared  with  the  others,  it  was  in 
reality  much  the  most  valuable,  because  the  staff  was 
hollow,  and  full  of  gold. 

The  young  men  now  asked  the  Pythoness  the  question 
which  all  three  had  agreed  was  the  most  important. 
This  was  the  name  of  the  next  king  of  Rome.  The 
priestess,  who  rarely  answered  a  question  directly,  replied 


62 


that  he  would  rule  who  first  kissed  his  mother  on  return- 
ing home. 

Tarquin's  sons  were  much  pleased  by  this  answer,  and 
each  began  to  plan  how  to  reach  home  quickly,  and  be 
the  first  to  kiss  his  mother.  Brutus  seemed  quite  indif- 
ferent, as  usual ;  but,  thanks  to  his  offering,  the  priestess 
gave  him  a  hint  about  what  he  should  do. 

Their  mission  thus  satisfactorily  ended,  the  three  young 
men  set  out  for  Rome.  When  they  landed  upon  their 
native  soil,  Brutus  fell  down  upon  his  knees,  and  kissed 
the  earth,  the  mother  of  all  mankind.  Thus  he  obeyed 
the  directions  of  the  Pythoness  without  attracting  the 
attention  of  the  two  princes.  Intent  upon  their  own 
hopes,  the  sons  of  Tarquin  hurried  home,  and  kissed 
their  mother  at  the  same  moment  on  either  cheek. 


**<c 


XXI.     THE   DEATH    OF    LUCRETIA. 

TARQUIN  was  so  cruel  and  tyrannical  that  he  was 
both  feared  and  disliked  by  the  Romans.  They 
would  have  been  only  too  glad  to  get  rid  of  him,  but 
they  were  waiting  for  a  leader  and  for  a  good  opportunity. 
During  the  siege  of  a  town  called  Ar'de-a,  the  king's 
sons  and  their  cousin,  Col-la-ti'nus,  once  began  to  quarrel 
about  the  merit  of  their  wives.  Each  one  boasted  that 
his  was  the  best,  and  to  settle  the  dispute  they  agreed  to 
leave  the  camp  and  visit  the  home  of  each,  so  as  to  see 
exactly  how  the  women  were  employed  during  the  absence 
of  their  husbands. 


63 

Collatinus  and  the  princes  quickly  galloped  back  to 
Rome,  and  all  the  houses  were  visited  in  turn.  They 
found  that  the  daughters-in-law  of  the  king  were  idle 
and  frivolous,  for  they  were  all  at  a  banquet ;  but  they 
saw  Lu-cre'tia,  the  wife  of  Collatinus,  spinning  in  the 
midst  of  her  maidens,  and  teaching  them  while  she 
worked. 

This  woman,  so  usefully  employed,  and  such  a  model 
wife  and  housekeeper,  was  also  very  beautiful.  When  the 
princes  saw  her,  they  all  said  that  Collatinus  was  right  in 
their  dispute,  for  his  wife  was  the  best  of  all  the  Roman 
women. 

Lucretia's  beauty  had  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
one  of  the  princes.  This  was  Sextus  Tarquinius,  who  had 
betrayed  Gabii,  and  he  slipped  away  from  the  camp  one 
night,  and  went  to  visit  her. 

He  waited  till  she  was  alone,  so  that  there  might  be  no 
one  to  protect  her,  and  then  he  insulted  her  grossly ;  for 
he  was  as  cowardly  as  he  was  wicked. 

Lucretia,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  good  and  pure  woman, 
so,  of  course,  she  could  neither  tell  a  lie,  nor  hide  any- 
thing from  her  husband  which  she  thought  he  should 
know.  She  therefore  sent  a  messenger  to  Collatinus  and 
to  her  father,  bidding  them  come  to  her  quickly. 

Collatinus  came,  accompanied  by  his  father-in-law  and 
by  Brutus,  who  had  come  with  them  because  he  suspected 
that  something  was  wrong.  Lucretia  received  them  sadly, 
and,  in  answer  to  her  husband's  anxious  questions,  told  him 
about  the  visit  of  Sextus,  and  how  he  had  insulted  her. 

Her  story  ended,  she  added  that  she  had  no  desire  to 
live  any  longer,  but  preferred  death  to  disgrace.     Then, 


(64) 


65 

before  any  one  could  stop  her,  Lucretia  drew  a  dagger 
from  the  folds  of  her  robe,  plunged  it  into  her  heart,  and 
sank  dead  at  her  husband's  feet. 

Of  course  you  all  know  that  self-murder  is  a  terrible 
crime,  and  that  no  one  has  a  right  to  take  the  life  which 
God  has  given.  But  the  Romans,  on  the  contrary,  be- 
lieved that  it  was  a  far  nobler  thing  to  end  their  lives  by 
violence  than  to  suffer  trouble  or  disgrace.  Lucretia's 
action  was  therefore  considered  very  brave  by  all  the 
Romans,  whose  admiration  was  kindled  by  her  virtues, 
and  greatly  increased  by  her  tragic  death. 

Collatinus  and  Lucretia's  father  were  at  first  speechless 
with  horror;  but  Brutus,  the  supposed  idiot,  drew  the 
bloody  dagger  from  her  breast.  He  swore  that  her  death 
should  be  avenged,  and  that  Rome  should  be  freed  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  wicked  Tarquins,  who  were  all  unfit 
to  reign.  This  oath  was  repeated  by  Collatinus  and  his 
father-in-law. 

By  the  advice  of  Brutus,  Lucretia's  dead  body  was  laid 
on  a  bier,  and  carried  to  the  market  place,  where  all 
might  see  her  bleeding  side.  There  Brutus  told  the  as- 
sembled people  that  this  young  and  beautiful  woman  had 
died  on  account  of  the  wickedness  of  Sextus  Tarquinius, 
and  that  he  had  sworn  to  avenge  her. 

Excited  by  this  speech,  the  people  all  cried  out  that 
they  would  help  him,  and  they  voted  that  the  Tarquin 
family  should  be  driven  out  of  Rome.  Next  they  said  that 
the  name  of  king  should  never  be  used  again. 

When  the  news  of  the  people's  fury  reached  the  ears 
of  Tarquin,  he  fled  to  a  town  in  Etruria.  Sextus, 
also,    tried    to    escape    from    his    just    punishment,    but 

STO.  OF  ROM.  —  C 


66 


he  went  to  Gabii,  where  the  people  rose  up  and  put  him  to 
death. 

It  was  thus  that  the  Roman  monarchy  ended,  after 
seven  kings  had  occupied  the  throne.  Their  rule  had 
lasted  about  two  hundred  and  forty-five  years ;  but,  al- 
though ancient  Rome  was  for  a  long  time  the  principal 
city  in  Europe,  it  was  never  under  a  king  again. 

The  exiled  Tarquins,  driven  from  the  city,  were  forced 
to  remain  in  Etruria.  But  Brutus,  the  man  whom  they  had 
despised,  remained  at  the  head  of  affairs,  and  was  given 
the  title  of  "  Deliverer  of  the  People,"  because  he  had  freed 
the  Romans  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Tarquins. 


&*iC 


XXII.     THE   STERN    FATHER. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Romans  in  anger  had  vowed  that 
.  they  would  never  have  any  more  kings,  they  would 
willingly  have  let  Brutus  rule  them.  He  was  too  good  a 
citizen,  however,  to  accept  this  post ;  so  he  told  them  that 
it  would  be  wiser  to  give  the  authority  to  two  men,  called 
Con'suls,  whom  they  could  elect  every  year. 

This  plan  pleased  the  Romans  greatly,  and  the  govern- 
ment was  called  a  Re-pub'lic,  because  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  people  themselves.  The  first  election  took  place 
almost  immediately,  and  Brutus  and  Collatinus  were  the 
first  two  consuls. 

The  new  rulers  of  Rome  were  very  busy.  Besides  gov- 
erning the  people,  they  were  obliged  to  raise  an  army  to 
fight  Tarquin,  who  was  trying  to  get  his  throne  back  again. 


67 

The  first  move  of  the  exiled  king  was  to  send  messengers 
to  Rome,  under  the  pretext  of  claiming  his  property.  But 
the  real  object  of  these  messengers  was  to  bribe  some  of 
the  people  to  help  Tarquin  recover  his  lost  throne. 

Some  of  the  Romans  were  so  wicked  that  they  preferred 
the  rule  of  a  bad  king  to  that  of  an  honest  man  like  Brutus. 
Such  men  accepted  the  bribes,  and  began  to  plan  how  to 
get  Tarquin  back  into  the  city.  They  came  together  very 
often  to  discuss  different  plans,  and  among  these  traitors 
were  two  sons  of  Brutus. 

One  day  they  and  their  companions  were  making  a  plot 
to  place  the  city  again  in  Tarquin's  hands.  In  their  excite- 
ment, they  began  to  talk  aloud,  paying  no  attention  to  a 
slave  near  the  open  door,  who  was  busy  sharpening  knives. 

Although  this  slave  seemed  to  be  intent  upon  his  work, 
he  listened  to  what  they  said,  and  learned  all  their  plans. 
When  the  conspirators  were  gone,  the  slave  went  to  the 
consuls,  told  them  all  he  had  heard,  and  gave  them  the 
names  of  the  men  who  were  thus  plotting  the  downfall 
of  the  republic. 

When  Brutus  heard  that  his  two  sons  were  traitors,  he 
was  almost  broken-hearted.  But  he  was  so  stern  and  just 
that  he  made  up  his  mind  to  treat  them  exactly  as  if  they 
were  strangers ;  so  he  at  once  sent  his  guards  to  arrest 
them,  as  well  as  the  other  conspirators. 

The  young  men  were  then  brought  before  the  consuls, 
tried,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  the  punishment  of 
traitors  —  death.  Throughout  the  whole  trial,  Brutus  sat 
in  his  consult  chair ;  and,  when  it  was  ended,  he  sternly 
bade  his  sons  speak  and  defend  themselves  if  they  were 
innocent 


68 


As  the  young  men  could  not  deny  their  guilt,  they  be- 
gan  to  beg  for  mercy  ;  but  Brutus  turned  aside,  and  sternly 
bade  the  lictors  do  their  duty.  We  are  told  that  he 
himself  witnessed  the  execution  of  his  sons,  and  pre- 
ferred to  see  them  die,  rather  than  to  have  them  live  as 
traitors. 

The  people  now  hated  the  Tarquins  more  than  be- 
fore, and  made  a  law  that  their  whole  race  should  be  ban- 
ished forever.  Collatinus,  you  know,  was  a  most  bitter 
enemy  of  the  exiled  king's  family ;  but,  as  he  was  himself 
related  to  them,  he  had  to  give  up  his  office  and  leave 
Rome.  The  people  then  chose  another  noble  Roman, 
named  Va-le'ri-us,  to  be  consul  in  his  stead. 

When  Tarquin  heard  that  the  Romans  had  found  out 
what  he  wanted  to  do,  and  that  he  could  expect  no  help 
from  his  former  subjects,  he  persuaded  the  people  of  Ve'ii 
to  join  him,  and  began  a  war  against  Rome. 

Tarquin's  army  was  met  by  Brutus  at  the  head  of  the 
Romans.  Before  the  battle  could  begin,  one  of  Tarquin's 
sons  saw  Brutus,  and  rushed  forward  to  kill  him.  Such 
was  the  hatred  these  two  men  bore  each  other  that  they 
fought  with  the  utmost  fury,  and  fell  at  the  same  time, 
never  to  rise  again. 

Although  these  two  generals  had  been  killed  so  soon, 
the  fight  was  very  fierce.  The  forces  were  so  well  matched 
that,  when  evening  came  on,  the  battle  was  not  decided, 
and  neither  side  would  call  itself  beaten. 

The  body  of  Brutus  was  carried  back  to  Rome,  and 
placed  in  the  Forum,  where  all  the  people  crowded  around 
it  in  tears.  Such  was  the  respect  which  the  Romans  felt 
for  this  great  citizen  that  the  women  wore  mourning  for 


69 

him  for  a  whole   year,  and  his  statue  was  placed  in  the 
Capitol,  among  those  of  the  Roman  kings. 

The  Roman  children  were  often  brought  there  to  see  it, 
and  all  learned  to  love  and  respect  the  stern-faced  man 
with  the  drawn  sword ;  for  he  had  freed  Rome  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  kings,  and  had  arranged  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  republic  he  had  founded. 


&Kc 


XXIII.     A  ROMAN  TRIUMPH. 

AS  Brutus  had  died  before  the  battle  was  even  begun, 
the  command  of  the  Roman  army  had  fallen  to  his 
fellow-consul,  Valerius,  who  was  an  able  man.  When 
the  fight  was  over,  the  people  were  so  well  pleased  with 
the  efforts  of  their  general  that  they  said  he  should  re- 
ceive the  honors  of  a  triumph. 

As  you  have  probably  never  yet  heard  of  a  triumph, 
and  as  you  will  see  them  often  mentioned  in  this  book, 
you  should  know  just  what  they  were,  at  least  in  later 
times. 

When  a  Roman  general  had  won  a  victory,  or  taken 
possession  of  a  new  province,  the  news  was  of  course  sent 
at  once  to  the  senate  at  Rome.  If  the  people  were  greatly 
pleased  by  it,  the  senate  decided  that  the  victorious  com- 
mander should  be  rewarded  by  a  grand  festival,  or  triumph, 
as  soon  as  he  returned  to  Rome. 

The  day  when  such  a  general  arrived  was  a  public  holi- 
day, and  the  houses  were  hung  with  garlands.  The  Ro- 
mans, who  were  extremely  fond  of  processions  and  shows 


7o 

of  all  kinds,  put  on  their  festive  attire,  and  thronged  the 
streets  where  the  returning  general  was  expected  to  pass. 
They  all  bore  fragrant  flowers,  which  they*  strewed  over 
the  road. 

A  noisy  blast  of  trumpets  heralded  the  coming  of  the 
victor,  who  rode  in  a  magnificent  gilded  chariot  drawn  by 
four  white  horses.  He  wore  a  robe  of  royal  purple,  richly 
embroidered  with  gold,  and  fastened  by  jeweled  clasps 
on  his  shoulder ;  and  in  his  hand  he  held  an  ivory 
scepter. 

On  the  conqueror's  head  was  a  crown  of  laurel,  the 
emblem  of  victory,  and  the  reward  given  to  those  who  had 
served  their  country  well.  /The  chariot  was  surrounded 
by  the  lictors,  in  festive  array,  bearing  aloft  their  bundles 
of  rods  and  glittering  axes. 

In  front  of,  or  behind,  the  chariot,  walked  the  most 
noted  prisoners  of  war,  chained  together  like  slaves,  and 
escorted  by  armed  soldiers.  Then  came  a  long  train  of 
soldiers  carrying  the  spoil  won  in  the  campaign.  Some 
bore  gold  and  silver  vases  filled  with  money  or  precious 
stones;  others,  pyramids  of  weapons  taken  from  the  bodies 
of  their  foes. 

These  were  followed  by  men  carrying  great  signs,  on 
which  could  be  seen  the  names  of  the  cities  or  countries 
which  had  been  conquered.  There  were  also  servants, 
carrying  the  pictures,  statues,  and  fine  furniture  which  the 
victor  brought  back  to  Rome.  After  the  conqueror's 
chariot  came  the  victorious  army,  whose  arms  had  been 
polished  with  extra  care  for  this  festive  occasion. 

The  procession  thus  made  its  solemn  entrance  into  the 
city,  and  wound  slowly  up  the  hill  to  the  Capitol,  where 


7i 

the  general  offered  up  a  thanksgiving  sacrifice  to  the 
gods.  The  victim  on  the  occasion  of  a  triumph  was 
generally  a  handsome  bull,  with  gilded  horns,  and  decked 
with  garlands  of  choice  flowers. 

Servants  were  placed  along  the  road,  with  golden  dishes 
in  which  they  burned  rare  perfumes.  These  filled  the  air 
with  their  fragrance,  and  served  as  incense  for  the  victor, 
as  well  as  for  the  gods,  whom  he  was  thought  to  equal  on 
that  day. 


>;♦;< 


XXIV.     A    ROMAN    TRIUMPH    {Continued). 

OF  course  all  the  spectators  cheered  the  victorious 
general  when  he  thus  marched  through  Rome  in 
triumph ;  and  they  praised  him  so  highly  that  there  was 
some  danger  that  his  head  would  be  turned  by  their 
flattery. 

To  prevent  his  becoming  too  conceited,  however,  a 
wretched  slave  was  perched  on  a  high  seat  just  behind 
him.  This  slave  wore  his  usual  rough  clothes,  and  was 
expected  to  bend  down,  from  time  to  time,  and  whisper  in 
the  conqueror's  ear: 

"  Remember  you  are  nothing  but  a  man." 
Then,  too,  a  little  bell  was  hung  under  the  chariot,  in 
such  a  way  that  it  tinkled  all  the  time.  This  ringing  was 
to  remind  the  conqueror  that  he  must  always  be  good,  or 
he  would  again  hear  it  when  he  was  led  to  prison,  or  to 
the  gallows ;  for  the  passage  of  a  criminal  in  Rome  was 
always  heralded  by  the  sound  of  a  bell. 


72 

If  the  victory  was  not  important  enough  to  deserve  a 
triumph,  such  as  has  just  been  described,  the  returning 
general  sometimes  received  an  ovation.  This  honor  was 
something  like  a  triumph,  but  was  less  magnificent,  and 
the  animal  chosen  as  the  victim  for  sacrifice  was  a  sheep 
instead  of  a  bull. 

The  Roman  who  received  an  ovation  came  into  the  city 
on  foot,  wearing  a  crown  of  myrtle,  and  escorted  by  flute 
players  and  other  musicians.  The  procession  was  much 
smaller  than  for  a  triumph,  and  the  cheers  of  the  people 
were  less  noisy. 

Now  you  must  not  imagine  that  it  was  only  the  gener- 
als and  consuls  who  were  publicly  honored  for  noble 
deeds.  The  Romans  rewarded  even  the  soldiers  for  acts 
of  bravery.  For  instance,  the  first  to  scale  the  walls  of  a 
besieged  city  always  received  a  crown  representing  a  wall 
with  its  towers.  This  was  known  as  a  mural  crown,  and 
was  greatly  prized.  But  the  man  who  saved  the  life  of  a 
fellow-citizen  received  a  civic  crown,  or  wreath  of  oak 
leaves,  which  was  esteemed  even  more  highly. 

All  those  who  fought  with  particular  bravery  were  not 
only  praised  by  their  superiors,  but  also  received  valuable 
presents,  such  as  gold  collars  or  armlets,  or  fine  trappings 
for  their  horses.  The  soldiers  always  treasured  these 
gifts  carefully,  and  appeared  with  them  on  festive  occa- 
sions. Then  all  their  friends  would  admire  them,  and  ask 
to  hear  again  how  they  had  been  won. 

All  the  Roman  soldiers  tried  very  hard  to  win  such  gifts. 
They  soon  became  the  best  fighters  of  the  world,  and  are 
still  praised  for  their  great  bravery. 


73 


XXV.     THE    DEFENSE   OF   THE    BRIDGE. 

VALERIUS,  as  you  have  seen,  received  the  honors  of 
the  first  triumph  which  had  ever  been  awarded  by 
the  Roman  Republic.  By  the  death  of  Brutus,  also,  he 
was  left  to  rule  over  the  city  alone.  As  he  was  very  rich, 
he  now  began  to  build  himself  a  new  and  beautiful  house. 

The  people  of  Rome  had  never  seen  so  handsome  a 
dwelling  built  for  a  private  citizen ;  so  they  grew  very 
uneasy,  and  began  to  whisper  that  perhaps  Valerius  was 
going  to  try  to  become  king  in  his  turn. 

These  rumors  finally  came  to  the  ears  of  the  consul ; 
and  he  hastened  to  reassure  the  people,  by  telling  them 
that  he  loved  Rome  too  well  to  make  any  attempt  to 
change  its  present  system  of  government,  which  seemed 
to  him  very  good  indeed. 

Tarquin,  as  we  have  seen,  had  first  gone  to  the  people 
of  Veii  for  help ;  but  when  he  found  that  they  were  not 
strong  enough  to  conquer  the  Romans,  he  began  to  look 
about  him  for  another  ally.  As  the  most  powerful  man 
within  reach  was  Por'se-na,  King  of  Clu'si-um,  Tarquin 
sent  a  message  to  him  to  ask  for  his  aid. 

Porsena  was  delighted  to  have  an  excuse  for  fighting 
the  Romans ;  and,  raising  an  army,  he  marched  straight 
towards  Rome.  At  his  approach,  the  people  fled,  and  the 
senate  soon  saw  that,  unless  a  speedy  attempt  was  made 
to  check  him,  he  would  be  in  their  city  before  they  had 
finished  their  preparations  for  defense. 

The  army  was  therefore  sent  out,  but  was  soon  driven 
back  towards  the  Tiber.     This  river  was  spanned  by  a 


74 

wooden  bridge  which  led  right  into  Rome.  The  consul 
at  once  decided  that  the  bridge  must  be  sacrificed  to  save 
the  city;  and  he  called  for  volunteers  to  stand  on  the 
other  side  and  keep  Porsena's  army  at  bay  while  the 
workmen  were  cutting  it  down. 

A  brave  Roman,  called  Horatius  Co'cles,  or  the  One- 
eyed,  because  he  had  already  lost  one  eye  in  battle,  was 
the  first  to  step  forward  and  offer  his  services,  and  two 
other  men  promptly  followed  him.  These  three  soldiers 
took  up  their  post  in  the  narrow  road,  and  kept  the  whole 
army  back,  while  the  rest  of  the  Romans  hewed  madly  at 
the  bridge. 

The  two  companions  of  Horatius,  turning  their  heads, 
saw  that  the  bridge  was  about  to  fall;  so  they  darted 
across  it,  leaving  him  to  face  the  armed  host  alone.  But 
Horatius  was  too  brave  to  flee,  and  in  spite  of  the  odds 
against  him,  he  fought  on  until  the  bridge  crashed  down 
behind  him. 

As  soon  as  the  bridge  was  gone,  there  was  no  way  for 
the  enemy  to  cross  the  river  and  enter  Rome.  Horatius, 
therefore,  ceased  to  fight,  and,  plunging  into  the  Tiber, 
swam  bravely  to  the  other  side,  where  his  fellow-citizens 
received  him  with  many  shouts  of  joy. 

In  reward  for  his  bravery  they  gave  him  a  large  farm, 
and  erected  a  statue  in  his  honor,  which  represented  him 
as  he  stood  alone  near  the  falling  bridge,  keeping  a  whole 
army  at  bay. 


Horatius  at  the  Bridge. 


76 


XXVI.     THE   BURNT    HAND. 

HINDERED  from  marching  into  Rome  as  easily  as  he 
had  expected,  Porsena  prepared  to  surround  and 
besiege  it.  The  prospect  of  a  siege  greatly  frightened  the 
people ;  for  they  had  not  much  food  in  the  city,  and  feared 
the  famine  which  would  soon  take  place. 

The  Romans  were,  therefore,  placed  on  very  short 
rations ;  but  even  so,  the  famine  soon  came.  All  suffered 
much  from  hunger,  —  all  except  Horatius  Codes,  for  the 
starving  Romans  each  set  aside  a  small  portion  of  their 
scanty  food,  and  bade  him  accept  it.  It  was  thus  that 
they  best  showed  their  gratitude  for  the  service  he  had 
done  them,  for  they  proved  that  they  were  brave  enough 
to  deny  themselves  in  order  to  reward  him. 

The  Romans  were  still  unwilling  to  surrender,  but  they 
feared  that  Porsena  would  not  give  up  until  he  had  taken 
possession  of  the  city.  Some  of  the  young  men,  therefore, 
made  up  their  minds  to  put  an  end  to  the  war  by  murder- 
ing him.  A  plot  was  made  to  kill  the  King  of  Clusium  by 
treachery ;  and  Mu'cius,  a  young  Roman,  went  to  his 
camp  in  disguise. 

When  Mucius  came  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  he  did 
not  dare  ask  any  questions,  lest  they  should  suspect  him. 
He  was  wandering  around  in  search  of  Porsena,  when  all  at 
once  he  saw  a  man  so  splendidly  dressed  that  he  was  sure  it 
must  be  the  king.  Without  waiting  to  make  sure,  he  sprang 
forward  and  plunged  his  dagger  into  the  man's  heart. 

The  man  sank  lifeless  to  the  ground,  but  Mucius  was 
caught  and  taken  into  the  presence  of  Porsena.     The  king 


asked  him  who  he  was,  and  why  he  had  thus  murdered 
one  of  the  officers.  Mucius  stood  proudly  before  him  and 
answered  : 

"I  am  a  Roman,  and  meant  to  kill  you,  the  enemy 
of  my  country." 

When  Porsena  heard  these  bold  words,  he  was  amazed, 
and  threatened  to  punish  Mucius  for  his  attempt  by  burn- 
ing him  alive.  But  even  this  threat  did  not  frighten  the 
brave  Roman.  He  proudly  stepped  forward,  and  thrust  his 
right  hand  into  a  fire  that  was  blazing  near  by.  He  held 
it  there,  without  flinching,  until  it  was  burned  to  a  crisp ; 
and  then  he  said  : 

"  Your  fire  has  no  terrors  for  me,  nor  for  three  hundred 
of  my  companions,  who  have  all  sworn  to  murder  you  if 
you  do  not  leave  Rome." 

When  Porsena  heard  these  words,  and  saw  the  courage 
that  Mucius  displayed,  he  realized  for  the  first  time  how 
hard  it  would  be  to  conquer  the  Romans,  and  made  up 
his  mind  to  make  peace.  So  he  sent  Mucius  away  without 
punishing  him,  for  he  admired  the  courage  of  the  young 
man  who  loved  his  country  so  truly. 

Mucius  returned  to  Rome,  and  there  received  the  nick- 
name of  Scae'vo-la,  or  the  Left-handed.  Soon  after, 
Porsena  began  to  offer  peace,  and  the  Romans  were  only 
too  glad  to  accept  it,  even  though  they  had  to  give  him 
part  of  their  land,  and  send  some  of  their  children  into  his 
camp  as  hostages. 

Porsena  treated  these  young  people  very  kindly ;  but 
they  soon  grew  homesick,  and  longed  to  return  home. 
One  of  the  hostages,  a  beautiful  girl  named  Clce'li-a,  was 
so  anxious  to  go  back   to    Rome  that    she    sprang   upon 


78 

a  horse,  plunged  into  the  Tiber,  and  boldly  swam  across 
it.  Then  she  rode  proudly  into  the  city,  followed  by  sev- 
eral of  her  companions,  whom  she  had  persuaded  to  imi- 
tate her. 

The  Romans  were  delighted  to  see  their  beloved  chil- 
dren again,  until  they  heard  how  they  had  escaped.  Then 
they  sadly  told  the  hostages  that  they  would  have  to  return 
to  Porsena.  Cloelia  and  her  companions  objected  at 
first;  but  they  finally  consented  to  go  back,  when  they 
understood  that  it  would  be  dishonorable  if  the  Romans 
failed  to  keep  the  promises  they  had  made,  even  to  an 
enemy. 

The  king,  who  had  witnessed  their  escape  with  astonish- 
ment, was  even  more  amazed  at  their  return.  Full  of 
admiration  for  Clcelia's  pluck,  and  for  the  honesty  of  the 
Romans,  he  gave  the  hostages  full  permission  to  go  home, 
and  left  the  country  with  all  his  army. 


>**< 


XXVII.     THE   TWIN   GODS. 

TARQUIN  had  now  made  two  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
recover  the  throne.  But  he  was  not  yet  entirely  dis- 
couraged; and,  raising  a  third  army,  he  again  marched 
toward  Rome. 

When  the  senate  and  consuls  heard  of  this  new  danger, 
they  resolved  to  place  all  the  authority  in  the  hands  ot 
some  one  man  who  was  clever  enough  to  help  them  in  this 
time  of  need.  They  therefore  elected  a  new  magistrate, 
called  a  Dic-ta'tor.     He  was  to  take  command  of  the  army 


79 

in  place  of  the  consuls,  and  was  to  be  absolute  ruler  of 
Rome ;  but  he  was  to  hold  his  office  only  as  long  as  the 
city  was  in  danger. 

The  first  dictator  immediately  took  command  of  the 
army,  and  went  to  meet  Tarquin.  The  two  forces  came 
face  to  face  near  Lake  Re-gil'lus,  not  very  far  from  the 
city.  Here  a  terrible  battle  was  fought,  and  here  the 
Romans  won  a  glorious  victory.  Their  writers  have  said 
that  the  twin  gods,  Cas'tor  and  Pol'lux,  came  down  upon 
earth  to  help  them,  and  were  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  fray, 
mounted  upon  snow-white  horses. 

When  the  fight  was  over,  and  the  victory  gained,  these 
gods  vanished  from  the  battlefield ;  but  shortly  after, 
they  came  dashing  into  Rome,  and  announced  that  the 
battle  was  won.  Then  they  dismounted  in  the  Forum,  in 
the  midst  of  the  people,  watered  their  horses  at  the  foun- 
tain there,  and  suddenly  vanished,  after  telling  the  Ro- 
mans to  build  a  temple  in  their  honor.* 

Full  of  gratitude  for  the  help  of  the  twin  gods,  without 
whom  the  battle  would  have  been  lost,  the  Romans  built 
a  temple  dedicated  to  their  service.  This  building  was  on 
one  side  of  the  Forum,  on  the  very  spot  where  the  radiant 
youths  had  stood ;    and  there  its  ruins  can  still  be  seen. 

The  Romans  were  in  the  habit  of  calling  upon  these 
brothers  to  assist  them  in  times  of  need ;  and  in  ancient 
tombs  there  have  been  found  coins  bearing  the  effigy  of 
the  two  horsemen,  each  with  a  star  over  his  head.  The 
stars  were  placed  there  because  the  Romans  believed  that 
the  twin  gods  had  been  changed  into  two  very  bright 
and  beautiful  stars. 

It  is  said  that  Tarquin  managed  to  escape  alive  from  the 


(8o) 


8i 


battle  of  Lake  Regillus,  and  that  he  went  to  live  at  Cumae, 
where  he  died  at  a  very  advanced  age.  But  he  never 
again  ventured  to  make  war  against  the  Romans,  who  had 
routed  him  so  sorely. 

The  old  consul  Valerius  continued  to  serve  his  native 
city,  and  spent  his  money  so  lavishly  in  its  behalf  that  he 
died  very  poor.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  his  funeral  expenses 
had  to  be  paid  by  the  state,  as  he  did  not  leave  money 
enough  even  to  provide  for  his  burial. 


>xx< 


XXVIII.     THE   WRONGS   OF   THE   POOR. 

NOW  that  the  war  against  Tarquin  was  over,  the 
Romans  fancied  that  they  would  be  able  to  enjoy 
a  little  peace.  They  were  greatly  mistaken,  however ;  for 
as  soon  as  peace  was  made  abroad,  trouble  began  at  home. 

There  were,  as  you  have  already  heard,  two  large  classes 
of  Roman  citizens :  the  patricians,  or  nobles,  and  the  ple- 
beians, or  common  people.  They  remained  distinct,  gen- 
eration after  generation,  because  no  one  was  allowed  to 
marry  outside  his  own  class. 

The  patricians  alone  had  the  right  to  be  consuls  and 
senators ;  they  enjoyed  many  other  privileges,  and  they 
owned  most  of  the  land. 

The#  plebeians,  on  the  other  hand,  were  given  only  a 
small  share  in  the  government,  although  they  were  called 
upon  to  pay  a  large  part  of  the  taxes.  They  suffered 
much  from  the  patricians,  who  considered  them  not  much 
better  than  slaves.      Of   course  this  state  of  affairs  was 

STO.  OF  ROM.  — 6 


82 


not  pleasant  for  the  plebeians ;  still  they  remained  very 
quiet  until  matters  grew  much  worse. 

As  the  plebeians  were  obliged  to  pay  taxes,  they  had  to 
have  money ;  and,  when  their  farms  did  not  yield  enough, 
they  were  forced  to  borrow  from  the  patricians.  The 
patricians  were  always  ready  to  lend  money,  because  the 
laws  were  in  their  favor.  Thus  if  a  plebeian  could  not  pay 
his  debts,  the  lender  could  seize  the  poor  man's  farm,  and 
even  sell  the  man  himself  as  a  slave. 

The  patricians  were  very  cruel;  they  often  kept  the 
poor  debtors  in  prison,  and  beat  and  illtreated  them  con- 
stantly. The  plebeians  were  so  indignant  at  all  this  that 
they  finally  rebelled,  and,  when  a  war  broke  out  with  the 
Volscians,  they  refused  to  go  and  fight. 

The  consuls  coaxed  and  threatened,  but  the  plebeians 
would  not  stir.  When  asked  why  they  would  no  longer 
go  with  the  army,  they  answered  that  since  the  patricians 
claimed  all  the  spoil  taken  in  war,  they  might  do  all  the 
fighting. 

To  pacify  the  plebeians,  the  magistrates  promised  to 
make  laws  in  their  favor  as  soon  as  the  war  was  over, 
if  they  would  only  fight  as  usual ;  so  the  men  took  up  their 
arms  and  went  to  battle.  But,  when  the  war  was  ended, 
the  magistrates  made  no  changes  in  favor  of  the  plebeians, 
and  allowed  the  patricians  to  illtreat  them  as  much  as  ever. 

The  discontent  had  reached  such  a  pitch  that  it  was 
very  evident  some  outbreak  would  soon  take  place.  One 
day  an  unhappy  debtor  escaped  from  prison,  and,  rushing 
out  into  the  Forum,  showed  his  bruises  to  the  people,  and 
began  to  tell  them  his  pitiful  tale. 

He  said  that  he  was  a  plebeian,  and  that  he  had  run 


83 

into  debt  because,  instead  of  cultivating  his  farm,  he 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  home  and  go  with  the  army. 
Scarcely  was  one  war  over  than  another  began,  and  at 
that  time  the  Roman  soldiers  received  no  pay.  Although 
he  fought  hard,  and  could  show  the  scars  of  twenty  battles, 
he  had  gained  nothing  for  it  all  except  a  little  praise. 

Then,  upon  returning  home,  a  patrician  put  him  in 
prison,  because  he  could  not  pay  the  money  he  owed. 
The  debtor  had  been  treated  with  the  most  horrible 
cruelty,  and  would  probably  have  died  there  had  he  not 
succeeded  in  making  his  escape. 

Now  there  had  been  several  cases  like  this,  even  before 
the  war  with  the  Volscians.  This  time,  however,  the  ple- 
beians were  so  indignant  at  the  sight  of  the  man's  bruises, 
and  at  the  hearing  of  his  wrongs,  that  they  all  marched 
out  of  the  city,  vowing  that  they  would  never  come  back 
until  they  were  sure  of  fair  treatment. 

After  leaving  Rome,  the  plebeians  camped  upon  a 
neighboring  hill,  which  was  afterwards  known  as  Sacred 
Mountain.  When  they  were  gone,  the  patricians,  who 
had  so  illtreated  them,  began  to  feel  their  absence.  As 
the  patricians  scorned  all  work,  and  never  did  anything 
but  fight,  they  were  sorely  taken  aback  when  there  were 
no  farmers  left  to  till  their  ground,  no  market  men  to  sup- 
ply their  tables,  and  no  merchants  from  whom  they  could 
buy  the  articles  they  needed. 

The  senate  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  along  with- 
out the  plebeians.  One  message  after  another  was  sent, 
imploring  them  to  return;  but  the  people  said  that  they 
had  suffered  enough,  and  would  never  again  trust  in  prom- 
ises, since  they  would  not  be  kept 


84 


XXIX.     THE   FABLE   OF   THE   STOMACH. 

NOW  although  the  plebeians  were  so  obstinate  in 
their  refusal  to  return  to  Rome,  and  although  they 
openly  rejoiced  when  they  heard  that  the  patricians  were 
in  distress,  they  were  nearly  as  badly  off  themselves.  They 
had  managed  to  bring  only  a  very  little  food  with  them,  and, 
as  they  had  no  money,  starvation  was  staring  them  in  the 
face. 

Both  parties  were  suffering,  and  no  one  knew  how  to 
put  an  end  to  this  distressing  state  of  affairs.  At  last  a 
wise  Roman,  named  Me-ne'ni-us,  offered  to  go  and  speak 
to  the  people  and  persuade  them  to  come  back  to  Rome. 

The  senators,  who  had  made  so  many  vain  efforts,  and 
had  talked  until  they  were  tired,  were  delighted  when  they 
heard  this  offer,  and  bade  Menenius  go  and  do  his  best. 
This  wise  man,  therefore,  went  to  the  Sacred  Mountain, 
advanced  into  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  and  began  to  ad- 
dress them. 

He  had  noticed  that  the  poor  people,  who  were  very 
ignorant  indeed,  did  not  understand  the  long  speeches  made 
by  the  senators ;  so  he  began  to  tell  them  a  simple  story. 

"My  friends,"  said  he,  "all  the  different  parts  of  the 
body  once  refused  to  work,  saying  that  they  were  tired  of 
serving  the  stomach.  The  legs  said  :  *  What  is  the  use  of 
running  about  from  morning  till  night,  merely  to  find  food 
enough  to  fill  it  ? ' 

"  *  We  won't  work  for  that  lazy  stomach  either ! '  said 
the  hands  and  arms.  *  Legs,  if  you'll  keep  still,  we  won't 
move  either.' 


85 

"'We  are  tired,  too,'  said  the  teeth.  ■  It  is  grind,  grind, 
grind,  all  day  long.  The  stomach  can  do  its  own  work 
hereafter.' 

"  All  the  other  parts  of  the  body  had  some  complaint 
to  make  about  the  stomach,  and  all  agreed  that  they 
would  not  work  any  more  to  satisfy  its  wants.  The  legs 
ceased  walking,  the  hands  and  arms  stopped  working, 
the  teeth  did  not  grind  any  more,  and  the  empty  stomach 
clamored  in  vain  for  its  daily  supply  of  food. 

"All  the  limbs  were  delighted  at  first  with  their  rest, 
and,  when  the  empty  stomach  called  for  something  to  eat, 
they  merely  laughed.  Their  fun  did  not  last  very  long, 
however,  because  the  stomach,  weak  for  want  of  food, 
soon  ceased  its  cries.  Then,  after  a  while,  the  hands  and 
arms  and  legs  grew  so  weak  that  they  could  not  move. 
All  the  body  fell  down  and  died,  because  the  stomach, 
without  food,  could  no  longer  supply  it  with  strength  to  live. 

"Now,  my  friends,"  continued  Menenius,  "this  is  just 
your  case.  The  state  is  the  body,  the  patricians  are  the 
stomach,  and  you  are  the  limbs.  Of  course,  if  you  refuse 
to  work,  and  remain  idle,  the  patricians  will  suffer,  just  as 
the  stomach  did  in  the  story  I  told  you. 

"  But,  if  you  persist  in  your  revolt,  you  will  soon  suffer 
also.  You  will  lose  your  strength,  and  before  long  the 
body,  our  glorious  Roman  state,  will  perish." 

The  plebeians  listened  to  this  story  very  attentively, 
understood  the  illustration,  and  saw  the  sense  of  all  that 
Menenius  said.  They  began  to  realize  that  they  could 
not  get  along  without  the  patricians  any  better  than  the 
patricians  could  get  along  without  them. 

So,  after  talking  the  matter  over  a  little,  they  all  told 


86 

Menenius  that  they  were  willing  to  go  back  to  Rome.  He 
was  very  glad  when  he  heard  this ;  and,  to  prevent  them 
from  again  being  used  so  badly,  he  made  the  senate  give 
them  officers  who  should  look  after  their  rights. 

These  new  magistrates  were  called  Trib'unes.  They 
had  the  right  to  interfere  and  change  the  decision  of  the 
consul  or  any  other  officer,  whenever  it  was  necessary  to 
protect  a  plebeian  from  ill  treatment.  If  a  man  was  in 
debt,  therefore,  the  tribune  could  excuse  him  from  going 
to  war;  and,  if  the  creditor  was  trying  to  make  him  a 
slave,  the  tribune  could  free  him. 

In  later  times,  also,  the  tribunes  were  given  a  place  near 
the  door  of  the  senate  chamber.  Before  any  new  law 
could  be  put  into  effect,  it  had  to  be  shown  to  them.  In 
case  they  did  not  approve  of  the  law,  the  tribunes  could 
prevent  its  being  adopted  by  saying  "Veto"  a  Latin  word 
^—^which  means  "I  forbid  it." 

"N^  This  word  is  now  used  also  in  English,  and  you  will  see 
in  your  United  States  histories  that  the  President  has  the 
right  of  veto,  or  of  forbidding  the  passage  of  any  law  to 
which  he  objects.  The  tribunes  were  at  first  two  in  num- 
X  ber,  but  later  there  were  ten  of  them.  They  were  always 
the  friends  of  the  people. 

Two  other  officers  were  also  elected  by  the  plebeians. 
'  They  were  called  ^E'diles,  and  their  duty  was  to  help  the 
tribunes,  and  also  to  care  for  the  public  buildings,  to  see 
that  the  Romans  had  clean  houses  and  good  food,  and  to 
^  -look  after  the  welfare  of  the  poor  people.  Thus,  you  see, 
the  plebeians  were  far  better  off  than  they  had  ever  been 
before,  and  were  now  provided  with  magistrates  whose 
sole  business  it  was  to  look  after  their  interests. 


8; 


XXX.     THE   STORY   OF   CORIOLANUS. 

THE  plebeians  returned  to  Rome  as  soon  as  they  were 
sure  that  their  rights  would  be  respected.  They 
had  no  sooner  arrived,  however,  than  they  once  more 
armed  themselves,  and  went  out  to  fight  the  Volscians, 
who  had  taken  advantage  of  the  revolt  to  rise  up  against 
Rome.  The  victory  was  soon  won,  and  the  army  came 
back  to  the  city,  where,  in  spite  of  the  tribunes'  efforts, 
new  quarrels  arose  between  the  patricians  and  plebeians. 

One  of  the  principal  causes  of  discontent  was  that  the 
patricians  now  regretted  having  given  any  rights  to  the 
plebeians,  and  were  always  seeking  some  good  excuse  to 
reduce  them  to  their  former  state  of  subjection. 

Three  years  after  the  revolt  of  the  plebeians,  there  was 
a  great  famine  in  Rome.  The  poor,  as  usual,  suffered  the 
most,  and  they  were  almost  starved,  when  a  king  of  Sicily 
took  pity  upon  them  and  gave  them  a  great  quantity  of 
wheat. 

The  wheat  was  sent  to  the  senate,  with  a  request  that 
it  should  be  divided  among  the  suffering  plebeians.  Now, 
as  you  surely  remember,  none  but  the  patricians  were 
allowed  to  belong  to  the  senate,  and  they  gladly  took 
charge  of  the  wheat.  But,  instead  of  distributing  it  imme- 
diately, they  kept  it,  saying  that  it  would  be  given  to  the 
poor  only  on  condition  that  they  gave  up  the  right  of 
electing  tribunes  and  aediles. 

The  plebeians  were  in  despair.  They  were  unwilling  to 
lose  their  dearly-won  rights,  and  still  they  were  so  hungry 
that  they  could  scarcely  resist  the  temptation  to  do  as  the 


88 


senators  wished,  for  the  sake  of  getting  food  for  them 
selves  and  their  families.  They  were  very  indignant  that 
such  a  cruel  advantage  should  be  taken  of  their  misery; 
and,  when  they  found  that  the  plan  had  been  suggested 
by  a  Roman  named  Co-ri-o-la'nus,  they  hated  him. 

In  their  anger  they  loudly  accused  Coriolanus  of  treason, 
and  made  such  fierce  threats  that  the  senate  did  not  dare 
to  protect  him.  Coriolanus  therefore  fled  from  Rome, 
swearing  that  he  would  take  his  revenge ;  and  he  went  to 
join  the  Volscians. 

The  Volscians,  you  know,  were  the  enemies  of  Rome. 
They  had  already  made  war  against  the  proud  city,  and 
had  lost  part  of  their  lands.  They  therefore  received  Cori- 
olanus with  joy,  and  gave  him  the  command  of  their 
army ;  for  they  knew  that  he  was  an  excellent  warrior. 

Coriolanus  then  led  them  straight  to  Rome.  On  the 
way,  he  won  one  victory  after  another  over  the  Roman 
troops,  and  took  village  after  village.  Such  was  his  suc- 
cess that  the  Romans  began  to  fear  for  their  city.  The 
plebeians,  moreover,  heard  that  he  was  ravaging  their 
lands  and  destroying  all  their  property,  while  he  did  no 
harm  to  the  farms  of  the  patricians ;  and  they  began  to 
tremble  for  their  lives. 

When  the  victorious  exile  was  only  five  miles  away,  a 
deputation  of  senators  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  implored 
him  to  spare  the  city.  But  Coriolanus  would  not  listen  to 
their  entreaties.  He  was  equally  deaf  to  the  prayers  of 
the  priests  and  of  the  Vestal  Virgins,  who  next  came  to 
beseech  him  to  have  mercy  upon  Rome. 

The  Romans  were  in  despair.  They  thought  their  last 
hour  had  come,  but  they  made  a  final  effort  to  disarm  the 


Coriolanus  before  Rome. 


(89) 


9o 

anger  of  Coriolanus,  by  sending  his  mother,  wife,  and  chil- 
dren, at  the  head  of  all  the  women  of  Rome,  to  intercede 
for  them. 

When  the  banished  Coriolanus  saw  his  mother,  Ve-tu'- 
ri-a,  and  his  wife,  Vo-lum'ni-a,  heading  this  procession,  he 
ran  forward  to  embrace  them.  Then  the  women  all  fell 
at  his  feet,  and  begged  him  so  fervently  to  spare  their 
country  that  the  tears  came  to  his  eyes. 

He  would  not  yield,  however,  until  his  mother  exclaimed  : 
"  My  son,  thou  shalt  enter  Rome  only  over  my  dead  body !  " 

These  words  almost  broke  his  heart,  for  he  was  a  good 
son,  and  dearly  loved  Veturia.  He  could  no  longer  resist 
her  prayers,  in  spite  of  his  oath  and  promises  to  the  Vol- 
scians  that  he  would  make  them  masters  of  Rome.  Burst- 
ing into  tears,  he  cried :  "  Mother,  thou  hast  saved  Rome 
and  lost  thy  son." 

The  tears  of  the  Roman  women  now  gave  way  to  cries 
of  joy,  and  the  procession  returned  in  triumph  to  Rome. 
Only  Veturia  and  Volumnia  were  sad,  because  Coriolanus 
could  not  accompany  them,  and  because  they  could  not 
forget  his  exclamation,  and  feared  for  his  life. 

When  the  women  were  gone,  Coriolanus  led  his  dis- 
appointed army  home.  Some  historians  say  that  he  dwelt 
quietly  among  the  Volscians  until  he  died  of  old  age,  while 
others  declare  that  they  were  so  angry  with  him  for  betray- 
ing them  and  sparing  Rome,  that  they  put  him  to  death. 

According  to  a  third  version  of  the  story,  Coriolanus 
died  of  grief,  because  he  had  left  Rome  and  nearly  caused 
her  ruin,  and  because  to  save  his  native  city  he  had  been 
obliged  to  betray  the  Volscians  who  had  trusted  him. 

The  spot  where  Veturia  and  Volumnia   had  knelt  in 


9i 

tears  before  Coriolanus  was  considered  as  hallowed  ground. 
Here  the  Romans  built  a  temple  dedicated  to  the  Fortune 
of  Women.  They  never  forgot  how  generously  Coriolanus 
had  spared  them,  when  they  were  at  his  mercy ;  and  when 
he  died,  all  the  women  of  the  city  wore  mourning  for  him, 
as  they  had  worn  it  for  Brutus. 

Thus,  you  see,  even  in  those  ancient  times  the  people 
knew  that  it  was  nobler  to  conquer  one's  own  evil  passions 
than  to  win  a  great  victory ;  and  that  a  man  who  is  brave 
enough  to  own  himself  in  the  wrong  and  to  do  right,  is 
more  worthy  of  honor  than  many  another  hero. 


>X«c 


XXXI.  THE  FARMER  HERO. 

THE  Romans  were  so  warlike  a  people  that  they  were 
hardly  ever  at  peace.  As  soon  as  one  battle  was 
ended,  they  prepared  for  the  next,  and  after  defeating  one 
people  they  immediately  tried  their  arms  against  another. 

When  not  busy  making  war  abroad,  they  often  quarreled 
at  home ;  for,  as  you  have  already  heard,  the  patricians 
and  plebeians  were  too  jealous  of  each  other  to  agree  for 
any  length  of  time.  In  all  this  fighting,  many  soldiers 
were  slain,  and  when  the  people  of  Veii  once  began  to  rise 
up  against  Rome,  the  senate  was  dismayed  to  find  that 
there  was  no  army  ready  to  meet  them. 

In  this  time  of  danger,  a  noble  patrician,  named  Fa'bi-us, 
stood  up  in  the  senate,  and  said  that  he  and  his  family 
would  at  once  arm,  and  go  forth  and  fight  for  the  city. 
Early  the  next  day,  three  hundred  and  six  men,  all  related 


92 

« 

to  one  another,  and  all  bearing  the  name  of  Fabius, 
marched  out  of  Rome  to  meet  the  foe. 

In  the  first  battle  the  Fa'bi-i  won  a  glorious  victory ;  but 
later  on  in  the  campaign  they  were  led  into  an  ambush,  and 
were  all  slain.  When  the  news  of  their  death  was  brought 
into  the  city  the  people  burst  into  tears,  and  the  gate 
through  which  they  had  passed  was  called  the  Unlucky. 

The  day  of  their  death  was  marked  in  the  Roman  calen- 
dar as  also  unlucky,  and  the  people  publicly  mourned  the 
loss  of  such  good  and  brave  men,  who  had  left  only  a  few 
little  children,  too  young  to  bear  arms,  for  the  defense  of 
their  country. 

The  Romans,  however,  soon  won  a  great  victory  over  the 
people  of  Veii,  and  the  two  cities  made  a  long  truce.  But 
the  wars  with  other  peoples  still  went  on,  and  among  the 
worst  enemies  of  Rome  were  the  ^E'qui-ans.  On  one 
occasion  the  Roman  troops  were  led  by  a  consul  who  had 
not  had  much  experience.  Before  long  his  camp  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  /Equians,  and  his  army  was  in  great  danger 
of  suffering  the  same  fate  as  the  Fabii. 

Five  horsemen,  however,  managed  to  escape,  and  hur- 
ried to  warn  the  senate  of  the  army's  peril.  The  people 
were  horrified  at  these  tidings,  and,  knowing  that  the 
second  consul  was  no  more  of  a  general  than  the  first, 
insisted  that  a  dictator  should  be  chosen. 

Only  one  man  seemed  able  to  help  them.  This  was 
Cin-cin-na'tus,  an  old  soldier  who  had  retired  to  a  farm, 
where  he  spent  all  his  time  in  plowing,  sowing,  and  reap- 
ing. A  party  of  senators  went  in  search  of  him,  and 
found  him  plowing  in  his  fields. 

In  haste  they  told  him  of  the  army's  danger,  and  im- 


93 

plored  him  to  take  charge  of  the  city,  and  do  all  he  could 
to  save  the  lives  of  their  brave  countrymen.  Cincinnatus 
was  weary  of  warfare,  and  would  have  preferred  to  remain 
on  his  farm ;  but  as  soon  as  he  heard  this  news,  he  left  his 
oxen  standing  in  the  furrow,  and  went  back  to  Rome  with 
the  senators. 

Arrived  in  the  Forum,  he  called  the  citizens  to  arms. 
He  bade  every  able-bodied  man  be  on  the  Field  of  Mars 
before  sundown,  fully  armed,  and  carrying  enough  food  to 
last  him  five  days.  The  Romans  were  so  glad  to  have  a 
good  leader  that  they  hastened  to  obey  him ;  and,  as  the 
sun  sank  beneath  the  horizon,  Cincinnatus,  the  new  dicta- 
tor, marched  out  of  Rome,  at  the  head  of  a  little  army  of 
determined  men. 

By  walking  all  night,  Cincinnatus  brought  his  men  in 
the  rear  of  the  ^Equians,  who,  at  dawn,  found  that  the 
tables  were  turned,  and  that  they  were  now  between  two 
armies  of  angry  Romans. 

They  soon  saw  that  resistance  would  be  useless,  and, 
without  striking  a  single  blow,  offered  to  surrender.  Cin- 
cinnatus gladly  accepted  their  offers  of  peace,  but  let 
them  go  only  after  they  had  given  up  their  arms  and 
spoil,  and  had  gone  through  a  ceremony  called  "  passing 
under  the  yoke."  This  was  considered  a  great  disgrace, 
and  the  ^Equians  would  never  have  submitted  to  it  had 
they  not  been  compelled  to  do  so  in  order  to  save  their 
lives. 

The  yoke  was  made  by  standing  up  two  spears  in  the 
ground,  and  tying  a  third  across  their  tops.  The  Roman 
soldiers  were  drawn  up  in  two  long  lines  facing  each 
other,  and  the  enemy  marched  between  them  and  under 


94 

the  yoke,  a  prey  to  the  taunts,  and  even  to  the  blows,  of 
their  conquerors. 

After  thus  rescuing  the  Roman  army  from  certain 
death,  Cincinnatus  brought  them  back  to  the  city,  and 
enjoyed  the  honors  of  a  triumph.  Then,  seeing  that  his 
country  no  longer  needed  him,  he  laid  aside  the  title  of 
dictator,  which  he  had  borne  for  only  a  few  days.  Joyfully 
hastening  back  to  his  farm,  he  took  up  his  plowing  where 
he  had  dropped  it;  and  he  went  on  living  as  quietly  and 
simply  as  if  he  had  never  been  called  upon  to  serve  as 
dictator,  and  to  receive  the  honors  of  a  grand  triumph. 

This  man  is  admired  quite  as  much  for  his  simplicity 
and  contentment  as  for  his  ability  and  courage.  He  was 
greatly  esteemed  by  the  Romans,  and  in  this  country  his 
memory  has  been  honored  by  giving  his  name  to  the  thriv- 
ing city  of  Cincinnati. 


:>>*< 


XXXII.     THE   NEW   LAWS. 

IT  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  all  the  Romans  were  not 
as  good  and  simple  and  unselfish  as  Cincinnatus ;  but 
the  fact  remains  that  there  were  many  among  them  who 
thought  only  of  themselves,  and  did  not  care  what  hap- 
pened to  the  rest.  The  patricians,  in  particular,  were 
much  inclined  to  pride  themselves  upon  their  position 
and  wealth,  and  to  show  themselves  both  haughty  and 
cruel. 

As  they  oppressed  their  poorer  neighbors,  the  plebeians 
grew  more  and  more   discontented,  until  the  senate  saw 


95 

that  they  would  again  rebel  if  something  were  not  quickly 
done  to  pacify  them.  There  was  now  no  Menenius  to 
plead  with  the  plebeians,  and  the  senators  remembered 
only  too  clearly  how  useless  all  their  long  speeches  had 
been. 

To  avoid  an  open  outbreak,  the  senators  therefore  pro- 
posed to  change  the  laws.  In  the  first  place,  they  sent 
three  men  to  Ath'ens,  which  was  also  a  republic ;  here  they 
were  to  study  the  government,  and  to  get  a  copy  of  the 
laws  of  So'lon,  which  were  the  most  famous  in  all  the 
world. 

When  the  three  men  came  home,  they  brought  with 
them  the  laws  of  the  A-the'ni-ans,  and  of  many  other 
nations.  Ten  men  were  then  elected  to  read  them  all,  and 
choose  the  best  for  the  new  Roman  code  of  laws.  When 
adopted,  the  new  laws  were  to  be  written  upon  brazen  tab- 
lets, and  set  up  in  the  Forum,  so  that  all  the  people  could 
read  them  whenever  they  pleased. 

The  ten  men,  or  De-cem'virs  as  they  were  called,  were 
granted  full  power  for  a  year.  They  were  very  careful  to 
be  just  in  judging  between  the  patricians  and  plebeians,  and 
they  soon  won  the  people's  confidence  and  respect. 

The  authority  which  they  thus  held  pleased  them  so 
much  that  they  wanted  to  keep  it.  At  the  end  of  the  year, 
the  laws  were  written  on  the  brazen  tablets,  and  set  up  in 
the  Forum;  but  the  men  pretended  that  their  work  was 
not  yet  done,  and  asked  that  decemvirs  should  be  elected 
for  a  second  year. 

The  people  believed  them,  and  the  election  took  place  ; 
but  only  one  of  the  ten  men,  Ap'pi-us  Clau'di-us,  was 
chosen  again.     The  new  rulers  were  not  as  careful  as  the 


96 

first ;  in  fact,  they  were  very  proud  and  wicked,  and  soon 
began  to  act  like  tyrants. 

Strange  to  say,  Appius  Claudius  was  more  unpleasant 
than  all  the  rest.  While  he  severely  punished  all  the  Romans 
who  did  not  mind  the  laws,  he  paid  no  attention  to  these 
laws  himself.  He  took  whatever  suited  him,  did  anything 
that  he  liked,  and  treated  the  people  with  great  cruelty. 

One  day,  while  sitting  in  the  Forum,  he  saw  a  beautiful 
girl,  called  Vir-gin'i-a,  pass  by  on  her  way  to  school.  She 
was  so  pretty  that  Appius  took  a  fancy  to  her,  and  made 
up  his  mind  to  have  her  for  his  slave,  although  she  was 
the  daughter  of  a  free  Roman  citizen. 

After  making  a  few  inquiries,  he  found  that  Vir-gin'i-us, 
the  girl's  father,. was  away  at  war.  Thinking  that  Virginia 
would  have  no  one  to  protect  her,  he  called  one  of  his 
clients,  said  that  he  wanted  the  girl,  and  gave  the  man  the 
necessary  directions  to  secure  her. 

Now  the  clients  at  Rome  were  a  kind  of  plebeians  who 
belonged  to  certain  families  of  patricians,  and  always 
worked  for  them.  The  client  of  Appius  Claudius,  there- 
fore, promised  to  do  exactly  as  he  was  told.  When  Vir- 
ginia crossed  the  Forum,  on  the  next  day,  he  caught  her 
and  claimed  her  as  one  of  his  slaves. 

The  girl's  uncle,  however,  sprang  forward,  and  said 
that  his  niece  was  not  a  slave.  He  appealed  to  the  law, 
and  finally  succeeded  in  having  the  girl  set  free,  on  con- 
dition that  she  should  appear  before  Appius  Claudius  on 
the  next  day,  when  the  matter  would  be  decided  in 
court. 

Virginia's  uncle  knew  that  there  was  some  plot  to  get 
possession  of  the  beautiful  girl  intrusted  to  his  care.     With- 


97 

out  losing  a  moment,  therefore,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  her 
father,  imploring  him  to  come  home  and  save  his  daughter 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  wicked  men. 


>XKc 


XXXIII.     THE    DEATH    OF   VIRGINIA. 

THE  next  day,  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  client 
appeared  before  Appius  Claudius,  and  claimed  Vir- 
ginia as  his  property,  saying  that  her  mother  had  once 
been  his  slave.  Now  this  was  not  true,  and  Virginia's 
uncle  protested  against  such  a  judgment ;  but  Appius  de- 
clared at  once  that  the  girl  must  go  with  the  client.  He 
said  this  because  he  had  arranged  that  the  man  should 
give  Virginia  to  him ;  and  he  fancied  that  no  one  would 
guess  his  motive  or  dare  to  resist. 

The  client  laid  hands  upon  the  unwilling  Virginia,  and 
was  about  to  drag  her  away  by  force,  when  her  unfortu- 
nate father  appeared.  Breathless  with  the  haste  he  had 
made  to  reach  Rome  in  time  to  save  his  child,  he  began 
to  plead  with  Appius  Claudius  to  set  her  free.  He  soon 
saw,  however,  that  all  his  prayers  were  vain,  and  that  in 
spite  of  all  he  could  say  or  do  his  daughter  would  be 
taken  away  from  him,  and  given  over  to  the  mercy  of 
those  wicked  men. 

In  his  despair,  he  now  asked  that  he  might,  at  least,  be 
allowed  to  take  leave  of  Virginia,  and  he  sadly  led  her  to 
one  side.  He  knew  that  none  of  the  spectators  would 
have  the  courage  to  help  him  save  her,  and  that  death 
was  far  better  than  the  life   which   awaited    her   in   the 

STO.   OF   ROM.  — 7 


98 

house  of  Appius  Claudius.  All  at  once,  he  caught  up  a 
knife  from  a  neighboring  butcher's  shop,  and  stabbed  her 
to  the  heart,  saying  : 

"  Dear  little  daughter,  only  thus  can  I  save  you." 

Then,  drawing  the  bloody  dagger  from  her  breast,  he 
rushed  through  the  guards,  who  did  not  dare  to  stop  him, 
and  left  Rome,  vowing  that  he  would  be  avenged.  When 
he  reached  the  army,  and  told  his  companions  about  the 
base  attempt  of  Appius  Claudius,  they  all  swore  to  help 
him,  and  marched  towards  Rome. 

The  decemvirs  had  not  expected  a  revolt,  and  had  made 
no  preparations  to  defend  the  city.  The  army  therefore 
marched  in  unhindered,  and  Appius  was  flung  into  prison. 
There  he  was  found  soon  after,  strangled  to  death;  but 
no  one  ever  took  the  trouble  to  inquire  how  this  accident 
had  happened. 

The  decemvirs  were  now  entirely  set  aside,  and  the 
government  was  restored  as  it  had  been  before ;  but  the 
brazen  tablets  remained,  and  the  laws  which  the  tyrants 
had  chosen  continued  to  be  enforced,  because  they  were, 
in  general,  good  and  just  for  all  the  people. 


>><K< 


XXXIV.     THE    PLANS    OF   A   TRAITOR. 

FOR  some  time  the  Roman  state  had  been  growing 
weaker;  and  as  the  quarrels  at  home  increased,  the 
Volscians  and  ^Equians  grew  bolder  and  bolder.  The 
patricians  and  plebeians  were  still  at  feud,  and  the  Roman 
soldiers    allowed    themselves   to    be   beaten    rather    than 


99 

fight  with  all  their  might  for  a  state  which  treated  them 
so  ill. 

The  tribunes,  hoping  to  mend  matters  a  little,  now  asked 
that  the  plebeians  should  have  the  right  to  marry  outside 
of  their  class,  and  to  hold  the  office  of  consul.  The  first 
request  was  soon  granted,  but  the  second  was  for  a  long 
time  denied. 

Both  consuls  were  still  elected  from  among  the  patri- 
cians, and  the  senate  also  said  that  two  new  officers,  called 
Cen'sors,  should  be  of  the  same  class.  The  duty  of  the 
censors  was  to  count  the  people,  to  distribute  the  public 
lands  fairly,  to  decide  who  should  be  senators,  and  to  sup- 
press all  vice  and  wrongdoing  of  every  kind. 

The  plebeians,  however,  were  given  the  right  to  hold 
some  minor  offices ;  and  this,  together  with  the  law  about 
marriages,  satisfied  them  for  the  time  being.  They  fought 
with  a  will,  and  conquered  the  Volscians.  Everybody 
now  hoped  that  the  peace  would  be  lasting,  but  the  quar- 
reling soon  began  again.  The  main  cause  of  this  new 
outbreak  was  a  famine ;  for  when  the  hungry  plebeians 
saw  that  the  patricians  were  well  supplied  with  food,  they 
were  naturally  envious  and  dissatisfied. 

One  of  the  rich  patricians  of  Rome,  Spu'ri-us  Mae'li-us, 
thought  that  this  would  be  a  good  chance  to  win  the  affec- 
tions of  the  people ;  and,  in  hopes  of  doing  so,  he  began 
to  give  grain  to  them.  He  kept  open  house,  invited  every- 
body to  come  in  and  sit  at  table  with  him,  and  spent  his 
money  freely. 

Of  course  all  this  seemed  very  generous ;  but  Spurius 
Maelius  had  no  real  love  for  the  people,  and  was  treat- 
ing them  so  kindly  only  because  he  wanted  them  to  help 


IOO 


him  overthrow  the  government  and  become  king  of 
Rome. 

Many  of  the  plebeians  now  ceased  to  work,  as  they 
preferred  to  live  in  idleness  and  on  charity.  People  who  do 
nothing  are  never  very  happy,  and  before  long  these  ple- 
beians were  more  discontented  than  ever,  even  though 
they  now  had  plenty  to  eat. 

Spurius  fancied  that  the  right  time  had  come;  so  he 
armed  his  followers,  and  prepared  to  take  possession  of 
Rome.  Fortunately  for  the  city,  the  plot  was  discovered 
by  the  senate,  who  again  chose  Cincinnatus  as  dictator, 
to  save  the  country  from  this  new  danger. 

This  great  patriot  was  then  eighty  years  old,  but  he  was 
as  brave  and  decided  as  ever,  and  did  not  for  a  moment 
hesitate  to  do  his  duty.  His  first  act  was  to  send  for  Spu- 
rius Maelius ;  but,  as  he  refused  to  obey  the  summons,  the 
messenger  of  Cincinnatus  stabbed  him  to  death. 

The  plebeians  were  now  for  more  than  seventy  years 
obliged  to  content  themselves  with  'the  rights  they  had 
already  won.  In  time,  however,  they  were  allowed  to 
hold  any  office  in  the  state,  and  it  was  made  a  law  that 
at  least  one  consul  and  one  censor  should  always  be  of 
their  class. 

Not  long  after  the  death  of  Spurius  Maelius,  war  broke 
out  with  Veii  again,  and  lasted  for  a  number  of  years. 
The  Romans  finally  decided  that  their  city  would  never  be 
safe  till  Veii  was  destroyed. 

This  decision  was  received  with  enthusiasm,  and  the 
Roman  army  began  the  siege.  They  soon  found,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  make  themselves  mas- 
ters of  the  town.     Ten  years  were  spent  in  vain  attempts 


IOI 

to  break  through  the  walls,  and  it  was  only  when  Ca-mil'- 
lus  was  made  dictator  that  the  Romans  were  able  to  take 
the  city. 

Camillus  made  his  men  dig  an  underground  passage 
right  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  citadel.  Having  thus 
gained  an  entrance,  he  captured  or  slew  all  the  inhabitants, 
and  then  razed  the  walls  that  had  so  long  defended  them. 
When  he  returned  to  Rome,  he  was  rewarded  by  a  mag- 
nificent triumph. 

XXXV.     THE   SCHOOL-TEACHER    PUNISHED. 

THE  war  with  Veii  was  soon  followed  by  one  against 
the  city  of  Fa-le'ri-i,  and  here  too  the  Roman  army 
found  it  very  hard  to  get  possession  of  the  town.  One 
day,  however,  a  school-teacher  came  to  Camillus,  bringing 
his  pupils,  who  were  the  sons  of  the  principal  inhabitants 
of  Falerii. 

Camillus  was  surprised  to  see  the  strange  party  coming 
from  the  city,  but  his  surprise  was  soon  changed  to  indig- 
nation, for  the  faithless  schoolmaster  offered  to  give  up  the 
children  confided  to  his  care.  He  said  that  their  parents 
would  be  quite  ready  to  make  peace  on  any  terms,  as  soon 
as  they  found  that  their  sons  were  prisoners.  Instead  of 
accepting  this  proposal,  Camillus  sent  the  children  back 
to  their  parents ;  and  he  gave  each  of  them  a  whip  with 
directions  to  whip  the  dishonest  schoolmaster  back  into 
the  city. 

When  the  parents  heard  that  their  children  owed  their 
liberty  to  the  generosity  of  the  enemy,  they  were  deeply 


(102) 


The  School-Teacher  Punished. 


103 

touched.  Instead  of  continuing  the  war,  they  offered  to 
surrender;  and  Camillus  not  only  accepted  their  terms, 
but  made  them  allies  of  Rome.  Thus  a  second  war  was 
ended  by  his  efforts,  and  the  Romans  were  again 
victorious. 

In  spite  of  his  successes  abroad,  Camillus  was  not  a 
favorite  at  home.  Shortly  after  his  return  from  this  last 
campaign,  the  Romans,  who  disliked  him,  accused  him  of 
having  kept  part  of  the  spoil  which  had  been  taken  at  Veii. 

This  accusation  was  false ;  but,  in  spite  of  the  protests 
of  Camillus,  they  persisted  in  repeating  it,  and  finally 
summoned  him  to  appear  before  the  magistrates,  where  he 
would  be  tried.  This  was  very  insulting,  but  Camillus 
would  have  complied  had  there  been  any  hope  of  having 
an  honest  trial. 

As  all  those  who  were  to  judge  him  were  his  enemies, 
he  refused  to  appear  before  the  court,  and  preferred  to 
leave  his  city  and  go  off  into  exile.  But  when  he  passed 
out  of  the  gates,  he  could  not  restrain  his  indignation. 
Raising  his  hands  to  heaven,  he  prayed  that  his  country- 
men might  be  punished  for  their  ingratitude. 

This  prayer  was  soon  answered.  Not  long  after  Ca- 
millus had  left  Rome,  the  Gauls,  a  barbarous  people  from 
the  north,  came  sweeping  down  into  Italy,  under  the 
leadership  of  their  chief,  Bren'nus. 

These  barbarians  were  tall  and  fierce ;  they  robbed  and 
killed  with  ruthless  energy  wherever  they  went,  and,  in 
spite  of  every  obstacle,  they  swept  onward  like  a  devastat- 
ing torrent.  Before  the  Romans  could  take  any  steps  to 
hinder  it,  they  appeared  before  the  city  of  Clusium,  and 
laid  siege  to  it. 


104 

The  Clusians  were  the  friends  and  allies  of  the  Romans, 
and  the  latter  sent  three  ambassadors  of  the  Fabian  fam- 
ily to  command  the  Gauls  to  retreat.  Brennus  received 
them  scornfully,  and  paid  no  heed  to  their  commands. 

Now  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Fabii,  as  ambassadors,  to 
return  to  Rome  and  remain  neutral.  Instead  of  this,  the 
men  sent  a  message  to  Rome,  joined  the  Clusians,  and 
began  to  fight  against  the  Gauls. 

Although  he  was  only  a  barbarian,  Brennus  was  furious 
at  this  lack  of  fairness.  In  his  anger  he  left  the  city  of 
Clusium,  and  started  out  for  Rome,  saying  that  he  would 
make  the  Romans  pay  the  penalty  for  the  mistake  of  their 
ambassadors. 


>X*c 


XXXVI.     THE   INVASION    OF   THE   GAULS. 

A  HASTILY  collected  army  met  Brennus  near  the  river 
Al'li-a,  but  in  spite  of  the  almost  superhuman  efforts 
of  the  Romans,  the  Gauls  won  a  great  victory,  and  killed 
nearly  forty  thousand  men.  The  Roman  army  was  cut 
to  pieces,  and  no  obstacle  now  prevented  the  barbarians 
from  reaching  Rome. 

As  the  Gauls  advanced,  the  people  fled,  while  many 
soldiers  took  refuge  in  the  Capitol,  resolved  to  hold  out  to 
the  very  last.  The  rest  of  the  city  was  deserted,  but 
seventy  of  the  priests  and  senators  remained  at  their  posts, 
hoping  that  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives  would  disarm  the 
anger  of  their  gods,  and  save  their  beloved  city.  These 
brave  men  put  on  their  robes  of    state,  and  sat  in  their 


105 

ivory  chairs  on  the  Forum,  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
barbarians. 

When  the  Gauls  reached  the  city,  they  were  amazed  to 
find  the  gates  wide  open,  the  streets  deserted,  and  the 
houses  empty.  They  did  not  at  first  dare  enter,  lest  they 
should  be  drawn  into  an  ambush,  but,  reassured  by  the 
silence,  they  finally  ventured  in.  As  they  passed  along 
the  streets,  they  gazed  with  admiration  at  the  beautiful 
buildings. 

At  last  they  came  to  the  Forum,  and  here  they  again 
paused  in  wonder  in  front  of  those  dignified  old  men,  sit- 
ting silent  and  motionless  in  their  chairs.  The  sight  was  so 
impressive  that  they  were  filled  with  awe,  and  began  to 
ask  whether  these  were  living  men  or  only  statues. 

One  of  the  Gauls,  wishing  to  find  out  by  sense  of  touch 
whether  they  were  real,  slowly  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
stroked  the  beard  of  the  priest  nearest  him.  This  rude 
touch  was  considered  an  insult  by  the  Roman,  so  he  raised 
his  wand  of  office,  and  struck  the  barbarian  on  the  head. 

The  spell  of  awe  was  broken.  The  Gaul  was  indignant 
at  receiving  a  blow,  however  weak  and  harmless,  and  with 
one  stroke  of  his  sword  he  cut  off  the  head  of  the  offender. 
This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  massacre.  The  priests 
and  senators  were  all  slain,  and  then  the  plundering 
began. 

When  all  the  houses  and  temples  had  been  ransacked, 
and  their  precious  contents  either  carried  off  or  destroyed, 
the  barbarians  set  fire  to  the  city,  which  was  soon  a  mass 
of  ruins.  This  fire  took  place  in  the  year  390  B.C.,  and  in 
it  perished  many  records  of  the  early  history  of  Rome. 
Because  of  their  loss,  not  much  reliable  information  was 


io6 


left ;  but  the  Romans  little  by  little  put  together  the  his- 
tory which  you  have  heard  in  the  preceding  chapters. 

We  now  know  that  many  of  these  stories  cannot  be  true, 
and  that  the  rest  are  not  entirely  so.  And  this  is  the  case 
also  with  those  in  the  next  two  or  three  chapters ;  for  the 
first  historians  did  not  begin  to  write  till  many  years  after 
the  burning  of  Rome.  The  Romans,  however,  believed 
thoroughly  in  all  these  stories,  and  people  nowadays  need 
to  know  them  as  much  as  the  perfectly  true  ones  that 
follow. 


>XK< 


XXXVII.     THE   SACRED   GEESE. 

ROME  was  all  destroyed  except  the  Capitol,  where 
the  little  army  was  intrenched  behind  the  massive 
walls  which  had  been  built  with  such  care  by  Tarquin. 
This  fortress,  as  you  may  remember,  was  situated  on  the 
top  of  the  Capitoline  hill,  so  that  the  Gauls  could  not 
easily  become  masters  of  it. 

Whenever  they  tried  to  scale  the  steep  mountain  side, 
the  Romans  showered  arrows  and  stones  down  upon  them  ; 
and  day  after  day  the  Gauls  remained  in  their  camp  at  the 
foot  of  the  Capitol,  hoping  to  starve  the  Romans  into  sur- 
render. 

The  garrison  understood  that  this  was  the  plan  which 
Brennus  had  made ;  so,  to  convince  him  that  it  was  vain, 
they  threw  loaves  of  bread  down  into  his  camp.  When 
the  chief  of  the  Gauls  saw  these  strange  missiles,  he  began 
to  doubt  the  success  of  his  plan ;  for  if  the  Romans  could 


107 

use  bread  as  stones,  they  were  still  far  from  the  point  of 
dying  of  hunger. 

One  night,  however,  a  sentinel  in  the  Gal'lic  camp  saw 
a  barefooted  Roman  soldier  climbing  noiselessly  down  the 
steep  rock  on  which  the  Capitol  was  built.  The  man  had 
gone  to  carry  a  message  to  the  fugitives  from  Rome,  ask- 
ing them  to  come  to  the  army's  relief. 

The  sentinel  at  once  reported  to  Brennus  what  he  had 
seen ;  and  the  Gallic  chief  resolved  to  make  a  bold  attempt 
to  surprise  the  Romans  on  the  next  night.  While  the 
weary  garrison  were  sound  asleep,  the  Gauls  silently  scaled 
the  rocks,  following  the  course  which  the  Roman  soldier 
had  taken  in  coming  down. 

The  barbarians  were  just  climbing  over  the  wall,  when 
an  accidental  clanking  of  their  armor  awoke  the  sacred 
geese  which  were  kept  in  the  Capitol.  The  startled  fowls 
began  cackling  so  loudly  that  they  roused  a  Roman  soldier 
named  Man'li-us. 

As  this  man  glanced  toward  the  wall,  he  saw  the  tall  form 
of  a  barbarian  looming  up  against  the  sky.  To  spring  for- 
ward, and  hurl  the  Gaul  down  headlong,  was  but  the  work 
of  a  moment.  The  man,  in  falling,  struck  his  compan- 
ions, whose  foothold  was  anything  but  secure,  and  all  the 
Gauls  rolled  to  the  foot  of  the  rock,  as  Manlius  gave  the 
alarm. 

All  hope  of  surprising  the  Capitol  was  now  at  an  end, 
so  Brennus  offered  to  leave  Rome,  on  condition  that  the 
senate  would  give  him  one  thousand  pounds  of  gold. 
This  was  a  heavy  price  to  pay  for  a  ruined  city,  but  the 
Romans  agreed  to  give  it. 

When  they  brought  the  precious  metal  and  began  to 


io8 


weigh  it,  they  found  that  the  barbarians  had  placed  false 
weights  in  the  scales,  so  as  to  obtain  more  gold  than 
they  were  entitled  to  receive.  The  Romans  complained ; 
but  Brennus,  instead  of  listening  to  them,  flung  his  sword 
also  into  the  scales,  saying  scornfully,  "Woe  to  the 
vanquished ! " 

While  the  Romans  stood  there  hesitating,  not  knowing 
what  to  do,  the  exiled  Camillus  entered  the  city  with  an 
army,  and  came  to  their  aid.  When  he  heard  the  insolent 
demands  of  the  barbarians,  he  bade  the  senators  take  back 
the  gold,  and  proudly  exclaimed : 

"  Rome  ransoms  itself  with  the  sword,  and  not  with 
gold !  " 

.Next,  he  challenged  Brennus  to  fight,  and  a  battle  soon 
took  place  in  which  the  Gauls  were  defeated  with  great 
slaughter,  and  driven  out  of  the  country.  As  soon  as 
they  were  fairly  gone,  the  fugitive  Romans  began  to 
return,  and  many  were  the  laments  when  they  beheld 
their  ruined  homes. 

Instead  of  wasting  time  in  useless  tears,  however,  they 
soon  set  to  work  to  rebuild  their  dwellings  from  the  stones 
found  in  the  ruins ;  and  as  each  citizen  placed  his  house 
wherever  he  pleased,  the  result  was  very  irregular  and 
unsightly. 

Manlius,  the  soldier  who  saved  the  Capitol  from  the  bar- 
barians, was  rewarded  by  being  given  the  surname  of  Cap- 
i-to-li'nus,  and  a  house  and  pension.  He  was  so  proud  of 
these  honors,  however,  that  he  soon  wanted  to  become 
king  of  Rome.  He  formed  a  plot  to  obtain  possession  of 
the  city,  but  this  was  discovered  before  it  could  be  carried 
out. 


109 

Manlius  Capitolinus  was  therefore  accused  of  treachery, 
and  arrested.  He  was  tried,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced 
to  death.  Like  any  other  traitor,  he  was  flung  from 
the  top  of  the  Tarpeian  Rock,  and  thus  he  perished  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  which  he  had  once  saved  from  the 
assault  of  the  Gauls. 


£<*:< 


XXXVIII.     TWO  HEROES  OF  ROME. 

NOT  very  long  after  the  departure  of  the  Gauls,  and 
the  tragic  end  of  Manlius  Capitolinus,  the  Romans 
were  terrified  to  see  a  great  gap  or  chasm  in  the  middle  of 
the  Forum.  This  hole  was  so  deep  that  the  bottom  could 
not  be  seen ;  and  although  the  Romans  made  great  efforts 
to  fill  it  up,  all  their  work  seemed  to  be  in  vain. 

In  their  distress,  the  people  went  to  consult  their  priests, 
as  usual,  and  after  many  ceremonies,  the  augurs  told  them 
that  the  chasm  would  close  only  when  the  most  precious 
thing  in  Rome  had  been  cast  into  its  depths. 

The  women  now  flung  in  their  trinkets  and  jewels,  but 
the  chasm  remained  as  wide  as  ever.  Finally,  a  young 
man  named  Cur'tius  said  that  Rome's  most  precious  pos- 
session was  her  heroic  men ;  and,  for  the  good  of  the  city, 
he  prepared  to  sacrifice  himself. 

Clad  in  full  armor,  and  mounted  upon  a  fiery  steed,  he 
rode  gallantly  into  the  Forum.  Then,  in  the  presence  of 
the  assembled  people,  he  drove  the  spurs  deep  into  his 
horse's  sides,  and  leaped  into  the  chasm,  which  closed  after 
him,  swallowing  him  up  forever. 


(no) 


Curtius  leaping  into  the  Chasm. 


Ill 


Now  while  it  is  hardly  probable  that  this  story  is  at  all 
true,  the  Romans  always  told  it  to  their  children,  and 
Curtius  was  always  held  up  as  an  example  of  great  patri- 
otism. The  place  where  he  was  said  to  have  vanished 
was  swampy  for  a  while,  and  was  named  the  Cur'tian 
Lake ;  and  even  after  it  had  been  drained,  it  still  bore 
this  name. 

The  same  year  that  Curtius  sacrificed  himself  for  the 
good  of  the  people,  Camillus  also  died.  He  was  regretted 
by  all  his  fellow-citizens,  who  called  him  the  second 
founder  of  Rome,  because  he  had  encouraged  the  people 
to  rebuild  the  city  after  the  Gauls  had  burned  it  to  the 
ground. 

Several  great  events  are  related  by  the  Roman  writers 
as  having  taken  place  at  about  this  time,  and  among  them 
is  the  fight  between  yalerius  and  a  gigantic  Gaul.  It 
seems  that  this  barbarian,  who  towered  head  and  shoul- 
ders above  everybody  else,  was  in  the  habit  of  stepping 
out  of  the  ranks  and  daily  challenging  the  Romans  to 
come  and  fight  him. 

Afraid  of  meeting  a  warrior  so  much  taller  and  stronger 
than  they,  the  soldiers  held  back.  But  one  of  them,  named 
Valerius,  was  so  annoyed  by  the  Gaul's  taunts  that  he 
finally  took  up  the  challenge,  and  bravely  made  ready  to 
fight.  Although  much  smaller  than  his  opponent,  Vale- 
rius had  one  advantage,  because  he  was  helped  by  a 
tame  raven  which  he  had  trained  to  peck  out  an  enemy's 
eyes. 

The  Gaul  fancied  that  he  would  win  an  easy  victory 
over  the  small  Roman,  and  boasted  very  freely ;  but 
before  he  had  time  to  strike  a  blow,  Valerius  and   the 


112 


raven  both  attacked  him.  In  trying  to  avoid  the  bird's 
beak,  the  Gaul  forgot  to  parry  the  blows  of  Valerius ;  and 
he  soon  fell  to  the  ground  dead. 

In  memory  of  this  duel  with  the  Gaul,  and  of  the  help 
which  he  had  received  from  the  tame  bird,  Valerius  ever 
after  bore  the  surname  of  Cor'vus,  which  is  the  Latin 
word  for  raven. 


>XXc 


XXXIX.     THE    DISASTER    AT    THE    CAUDINE 

FORKS. 

VALERIUS  was  not  the  only  Roman  who  gained  a 
name  from  meeting  a  Gaul  in  single  combat.  An- 
other was  a  member  of  the  Manlius  family,  to  which,  as 
you  know,  the  savior  of  the  Capitol  belonged. 

Manlius,  like  Valerius,  succeeded  in  killing  his  enemy, 
and,  as  a.  trophy,  he  took  from  the  dead  body  the  torque, 
or  necklace  of  twisted  gold,  which  was  generally  worn  by 
Gallic  chiefs.  Because  he  liked  to  appear  with  this  orna- 
ment around  his  neck,  the  Romans  surnamed  him  Tor- 
qua'tus,  which  means  "the  man  with  the  necklace." 

Torquatus  in  time  was  elected  consul,  and  thus  had 
command  of  the  Roman  troops.  He  thought  that  the 
soldiers  were  badly  trained,  and  that  the  discipline  was 
poor;  so  he  made  up  his  mind  to  reform  the  army.  He 
therefore  gave  strict  orders  that  every  soldier  should  obey 
promptly,  and  added  that  he  would  put  to  death  any  man 
who  ventured  to  rush  into  battle  without  waiting  for  the 
signal. 


H3 

Each  Roman  soldier  was  anxious  to  distinguish  himself, 
and  some  of  the  men  did  not  like  this  command.  In  the 
very  next  battle  the  general's  own  son  was  so  eager  to 
begin  the  fight  that  he  was  the  first  to  disobey  the  orders 
just  given. 

Knowing  that  discipline  must  be  maintained  at  any 
price,  Torquatus  sent  for  his  son  as  soon  as  the  fighting 
was  over.  Then,  true  to  his  promise,  he  had  the  offender 
executed  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  army. 

This  example  of  military  justice  so  awed  the  Romans 
that  none  of  them  ever  dared  to  disobey  their  general 
again.  Order  and  discipline  were  restored,  and  the  army 
returned  to  Rome  victorious.  There  the  senate  congratu- 
lated Torquatus,  not  only  upon  his  success,  but  also  upon 
the  courage  he  had  shown  in  keeping  his  word  even  at 
the  sacrifice  of  his  own  son's  life. 

The  senate  never  failed  to  compliment  and  reward  a 
victorious  general,  but  these  same  men  always  considered 
it  a  great  disgrace  when  their  army  was  defeated,  and 
they  often  visited  their  displeasure  upon  its  unlucky  com- 
mander. 

Therefore,  when  Spurius  Pos-thu'mi-us,  one  of  their  con- 
suls, fell  into  an  ambush  during  a  war  with  the  Samnites, 
they  were  greatly  displeased.  The  Romans  were  caught 
in  a  mountain  defile,  called  the  Cau'dine  Forks,  and, 
being  surrounded  on  all  sides,  were  forced  to  surrender. 
Then  the  whole  army  had  to  submit  to  the  humiliation  of 
passing  under  the  yoke,  and  the  consul  was  made  to  prom- 
ise that  Rome  would  never  renew  the  war. 

When  Posthumius  came  back  to  Rome,  he  was  severely 
reproved  by  the  senators,  who  were  very  angry  indeed 

STO.  OF  ROM.   —  8 


H4 

because  he  had  agreed  to  fight  no  more.  In  their  wrath, 
they  vowed  that  his  promise  to  the  Samnites  should  never 
be  kept.  Then  Posthumius  told  them  that,  since  they 
disapproved  of  his  conduct  so  greatly,  they  had  better  bind 
him  hand  and  foot,  and  send  him  back  to  the  Samnites. 

Strange  to  relate,  the  senate  took  advantage  of  this 
generosity,  and  Posthumius,  bound  like  a  criminal,  was 
led  to  the  Samnite  camp.  When  the  enemy  heard  that, 
although  bound  so  securely,  he  had  come  there  only  by 
his  own  free  will,  they  were  struck  with  admiration  for 
his  courage.  They  knew  that  the  Romans  were  going  to 
continue  the  war,  but  they  refused  to  take  vengeance  on 
Posthumius,  and  sent  him  home  unharmed. 

We  are  told  that  another  Roman,  also,  showed  great  pa- 
triotism during  the  wars  against  the  Samnites.  This  was 
the  consul  De'cius,  who  overheard  the  augurs  say  that  the 
victory  would  belong  to  the  army  whose  commander  was 
generous  enough  to  sacrifice  his  life  for  his  country's 
sake. 

As  soon  as  the  signal  was  given,  therefore,  Decius 
rushed  into  the  very  midst  of  the  foe.  Without  attempt 
ing  to  strike  a  single  blow,  or  to  defend  himself,  he  sank 
beneath  the  blows  of  the  enemy. 

The  soldiers,  fired  by  the  example  of  Decius,  fought  so 
bravely  for  their  country's  sake  that  they  soon  won  a 
brilliant  victory,  and  could  return  home  in  triumph. 

Many  wars  were  thus  waged  by  the  Romans  during  the 
years  which  followed  the  visit  of  the  Gauls.  They  took 
many  towns,  gradually  extended  the  boundaries  of  the 
Roman  state,  and,  after  waging  three  wars  against  their 
principal  foes,  the  Samnites,  they  hoped  to  have  peace. 


H5 

The  Samnites,  who  had  thrice  risen  up  against  the 
Romans,  were  a  powerful  people,  and  were  very  brave. 
They  lived  in  the  country  east  and  southeast  of  Latium, 
and  one  of  their  principal  towns  was  Her-cu-la'ne-um,  about 
which  you  will  hear  some  very  interesting  things  a  little 
later. 


>j*;c 


XL.     PYRRHUS  AND   HIS  ELEPHANTS. 

ALTHOUGH  defeated  in  three  separate  wars,  the 
Samnites  were  not  entirely  subdued.  They  knew, 
however,  that  they  would  never  be  able  to  conquer  Rome 
alone ;  so  they  began  to  look  about  them  for  a  very  strong 
ally. 

South  of  their  country,  and  near  the  sea,  were  several 
cities  founded  by  Greek  colonies  which  had  come  there 
many  years  before.  These  cities  were  rich  and  thriving, 
and  so  powerful  that  their  alliance  was  sought  after  by 
many  of  the  Italian  towns  and  tribes. 

One  of  the  strongest  of  the  Greek  cities  was  Ta-ren'tum, 
situated  on  what  is  now  called  the  Gulf  of  Ta-ran'to.  The 
Samnites,  therefore,  turned  to  this  city  for  aid,  and  soon 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  it.  They  knew  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Tarentum  had  earned  most  of  their  money  by 
trading,  and  that  they  had  a  great  many  ships,  and  cruised 
all  about  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

Not  long  after  the  alliance  had  been  formed  between 
the  Samnites  and  Ta-ren'tines,  the  Romans  complained  that 
their  vessels  had  been  attacked  by  Tarentine  sailors,  and 


u6 


asked  redress.  The  Greek  city  refused  to  apologize  or  to 
pay  damages ;  so  the  quarrel  between  the  two  parties 
ended  in  a  declaration  of  war. 

But  the  people  of  Tarentum  did  not  feel  strong  enough, 
even  with  the  aid  of  the  Samnites,  to  meet  the  Roman 
army ;  and  they  asked  for  help  from  E-pi'rus,  a  Greek 
country  on  the  other  side  of  the  Adriatic  Sea. 

Pyr'rhus,  the  King  of  Epirus,  was  a  brave  man  and  a 
good  general.  His  greatest  ambition  was  to  imitate  Al-ex- 
an'der  the  Great,  and  to  conquer  the  whole  world.  He 
therefore  thought  that  this  would  be  an  excellent  chance 
to  begin,  and  sent  a  large  army  over  to  Italy. 

To  complete  the  treaty  of  alliance  with  Tarentum,  he 
also  sent  a  man  named  Cin'e-as,  who  was  famous  for  his 
eloquence,  and  who  was  a  pupil  of  the  great  orator,  De- 
mos'the-nes.  Pyrrhus  himself  soon  came  over  to  Italy, 
where  he  proudly  viewed  his  force  of  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  and  his  elephants  which  were  trained  for  fighting. 

Upon  arriving  in  southern  Italy,  Pyrrhus  gazed  with 
contempt  upon  the  Tarentines.  He  despised  them  because 
they  hired  soldiers  to  do  their  fighting  for  them,  and  spent 
all  their  days  in  eating  and  lounging,  and  in  attending  the 
baths  or  the  theaters. 

Pyrrhus  therefore  told  them  that  unless  they  hardened 
themselves  by  exercise,  they  would  never  be  able  to  fight ; 
and  he  ordered  both  baths  and  theaters  to  be  closed. 
Next  he  tried  to  drill  them,  and  to  make  them  as  good 
warriors  as  his  own  soldiers,  whom  he  formed  into  a 
phalanx  as  the  great  Alexander  of  Mac'e-don  had  done 
with  his  troops. 

Now,  although  the  people  of  southern   Italy  were    so 


Pyrrhus  and  his  Elephants. 


("7) 


n8 


weak  and  indolent,  Pyrrhus  knew  that  the  Romans  were 
foes  worthy  of  him.  He  had  often  heard  of  their  fighting, 
and  he  suspected  that  the  Roman  legions  were  a  match 
even  for  the  Mac-e-do'ni-an  phalanx. 

Both  sides  were  therefore  very  anxious  to  win ;  and 
when  the  armies  met  at  Her-a-cle'a,  there  was  a  terrible 
battle.  The  Romans  had  never  seen  any  elephants  before, 
and  they  were  terrified  when  they  heard  these  animals 
trumpet,  and  saw  them  catch  the  soldiers  up  with  their 
trunks,  dash  them  down,  and  crush  them  under  their  huge 
feet. 

In  spite  of  their  fear  the  Romans  fought  with  the 
utmost  valor,  but  they  were  finally  forced  to  retreat.  They 
lost  fifteen  thousand  men  on  this  disastrous  day,  and 
eighteen  hundred  were  made  prisoners. 

Pyrrhus  won  a  victory,  but  he  was  obliged  to  pay  for  it 
very  dearly,  and  lost  so  many  soldiers  that  he  was  heard 
to  exclaim :  "  One  more  victory  like  this,  and  I  shall  have 
to  go  home  without  any  army." 

As  he  was  the  victor,  he  remained  on  the  battlefield,  and 
on  the  next  day  he  walked  all  over  it.  The  ground  was 
strewn  with  the  dead,  but  every  Roman  soldier  had  evi- 
dently perished  from  a  wound  in  front,  which  proved  that 
there  was  not  a  single  coward  among  them. 

Pyrrhus  was  so  struck  with  admiration  at  this  circum- 
stance, and  at  the  sight  of  all  those  faces,  which  even  in 
death  bore  the  expression  of  stern  resolve,  that  he  ex- 
claimed aloud : 

"  Ah,  how  easily  I  could  conquer  the  world,  had  I  the 
Romans  for  soldiers,  or  if  they  had  me  for  king! " 


1 19 


XLI.     THE   ELEPHANTS    ROUTED. 

AFTER  such  a  murderous  battle  as  that  of  Heraclea, 
Pyrrhus  shrank  from  meeting  the  Romans  again,  in 
spite  of  all  his  bravery.  He  therefore  sent  the  eloquent 
Cineas  to  Rome,  to  try  and  make  peace.  But  the  fine 
speeches  of  the  orator  had  no  effect,  and  when  Pyrrhus 
tried  to  bribe  the  senators  to  do  as  he  wished,  he  found 
that  this,  also,  was  in  vain. 

Fa-bri'cius,  the  Roman  ambassador,  came  to  his  tent, 
and  Pyrrhus  tried  to  frighten  him  into  submission  by 
placing  an  elephant  behind  the  drapery  and  making  it 
trumpet  all  at  once.  Fabricius  had  never  heard  such  a 
frightful  sound  in  his  life,  and  fancied  that  his  last  hour 
had  come;  but  he  remained  firm  in  his  refusal  to  make 
peace. 

Eloquence,  bribery,  and  intimidation  having  all  three 
failed,  Pyrrhus  again  made  ready  to  fight.  The  Romans, 
in  the  mean  while,  had  collected  another  army.  They  were 
now  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  the  fighting  elephants,  and 
their  trumpeting  no  longer  inspired  them  with  fear.  They 
met  Pyrrhus  once  more  at  As'cu-lum,  and  were  again 
defeated ;  but  their  loss  was  not  so  great  as  that  of  the 
enemy. 

The  Romans  were  not  ready  to  despair,  in  spite  of  their 
defeat.  Of  course  they  one  and  all  hated  Pyrrhus,  yet 
they  knew  that  he  was  an  honorable  foe,  and  they  would 
therefore  meet  him  in  fair  fight.  So,  when  a  doctor  wrote 
to  Fabricius,  offering  to  poison  his  master,  Pyrrhus,  the 
honest  Roman  was  indignant. 


120 


Instead  of  answering  this  treacherous  letter,  Fabricius 
sent  it  to  Pyrrhus,  bidding  him  beware  lest  the  dishonest 
doctor  should  take  his  life.  This  warning,  sent  by  an 
enemy,  filled  Pyrrhus  with  admiration  for  the  Roman 
general's  virtue,  and  he  warmly  cried : 

"  It  would  be  as  easy  to  turn  the  sun  from  its  course,  as 
thee  from  the  path  of  honor,  most  noble  Fabricius !  " 

Instead  of  continuing  the  war,  Pyrrhus  now  sent  back 
all  the  prisoners  he  had  made,  and  offered  a  truce.  This 
was  accepted,  and  Pyrrhus  passed  over  to  Sicily,  which 
he  hoped  to  conquer  more  easily.  But  he  was  soon  forced 
to  return  to  Italy,  and  when  he  left  the  fertile  island  he 
regretfully  said: 

"  What  a  fine  battlefield  we  are  leaving  here  for  Rome 
and  Carthage !  "  And,  as  you  will  see  in  the  course  of 
this  story,  this  was  true. 

On  the  return  of  Pyrrhus  to  Italy,  a  final  encounter  took 
place  between  him  and  the  army  of  Rome.  Here  the 
Romans  pelted  the  fighting  elephants  with  balls  of  rosin 
and  flax,  which  they  had  set  afire.  The  elephants,  terri- 
fied by  these  missiles,  and  maddened  with  pain,  turned  to 
flee,  trampling  to  death  the  soldiers  of  their  own  army. 

Then  the  Romans  took  advantage  of  the  confusion, 
and,  when  the  battle  was  over,  Pyrrhus  returned  home 
to  mourn  the  loss  of  twenty-three  thousand  brave  fighting 
men. 

His  hopes  of  conquering  Italy  were  ended ;  but,  as  he 
still  wished  to  rival  Alexander,  he  next  tried  to  become 
master  of  Greece.  While  he  was  fighting  in  this  country, 
however,  his  career  was  cut  short.  Once  when  he  was 
forcing  his  way  through  a  city  street,  an  old  woman,  stand- 


121 


ing  on  the  roof  of  her  house,  dropped  a  tile  on  his  head 
with  such  force  that  he  was  killed. 

The  Tarentines,  deserted  by  Pyrrhus,  yet  unwilling  to 
submit  to  Rome,  began  to  look  for  another  ally.  The 
most  powerful  one  they  could  find  was  Carthage,  the  city 
founded  by  Dido,  so  they  sent  there  for  aid. 

In  spite  of  the  Car-tha-gin'i-an  vessels,  however,  the 
Romans  soon  became  masters  of  Tarentum.  The  walls 
of  the  city  were  all  torn  down,  but  the  inhabitants  were 
spared,  and  were  allowed  to  continue  their  commerce 
under  the  protection  of  Rome. 

The  war  was  ended,  and  the  army  returned  to  Rome, 
where  a  magnificent  triumph  was  awarded  to  the  victo- 
rious consul.  In  the  procession  there  were  four  of  the 
fighting  elephants  which  the  Romans  had  captured,  and 
all  the  people  gazed  in  awe  and  wonder  at  the  huge 
creatures,  which  they  then  saw  for  the  first  time. 


^XKc 


XLII.     ANCIENT   SHIPS. 

THE  ships  in  olden  times  were  very  different  from 
many  of  those  which  you  see  now.  They  were  not 
made  to  go  by  steam,  but  only  by  sails  or  by  oars.  As  sails 
were  useless  unless  the  wind  happened  to  blow  in  a  favor- 
able direction,  the  people  preferred  to  use  oars,  as  a  rule. 
Even  large  ships  were  rowed  from  one  place  to  another 
by  well-trained  slaves,  who  sat  on  benches  along  either 
side  of  the  vessel,  and  plied  their  oars  slow  or  fast 
according  to  the  orders  of  the  rowing  master.     These  ves- 


122 


sels  with  many  rowers  were  called  galleys.  When  the 
men  sat  on  three. tiers  of  benches,  handling  oars  of  different 
lengths,  the  boat  they  manned  was  known  as  a  trireme. 

There  were  other  boats,  with  five,  ten,  or  even  twenty- 
four  banks  of  oars ;  but  for  war  the  most  useful  were  the 
triremes,  or  three-banked  ships,  and  the  quinqueremes,  or 
those  with  five  tiers  of  rowers.  For  battle,  the  ships  were 
provided  with  metal  points  or  beaks,  and  a  vessel  thus 
armed  was  rowed  full  force  against  the  side  of  an  enemy's 
ship  to  cut  it  in  two. 

Of  all  the  people  settled  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  the  Carthaginians  were  now  the  best  sailors. 
They  dwelt  at  Carthage,  in  Africa,  and,  as  their  city  was 
all  the  land  they  owned  there  at  first,  they  soon  turned 
all  their  energies  to  trading. 

The  Carthaginians  thus  amassed  great  wealth,  and  their 
city,  which  was  near  the  present  Tunis,  and  was  twenty- 
three  miles  around,  was  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world. 

Tn  the  course  of  their  journeys,  the  Carthaginian  sailors 
often  visited  Sicily,  one  of  the  most  fertile  countries  in  the 
world.  Little  by  little  they  began  to  establish  trading  places 
there,  and  daily  gained  ground  in  the  island.  The  Romans 
saw  the  advance  of  the  Carthaginians  with  great  displeas- 
ure ;  for  it  is  but  a  step  from  Sicily  to  the  Italian  main- 
land, and  they  did  not  want  so  powerful  a  people  for  their 
neighbors. 

The  city  of  Syr'a-cuse  was  at  this  time  the  largest  and 
strongest  on  the  island,  although  the  Carthaginians  had 
waged  many  wars  against  it.  There  was  also  another  city 
that  was  independent,  which  was  occupied  by  a  band  of 
soldiers   called    Mam'er-tines.     A  quarrel  between  these 


123 

two  cities  led  to  war,  and  the  Mamertines  were  so  badly 
defeated  that  they  asked  the  Romans  for  help. 

When  Hi'e-ro,  the  King  of  Syracuse,  heard  that  Rome 
was  planning  to  help  his  enemies,  he  sought  aid  from  Car- 
thage, and  began  to  get  ready  for  the  coming  war.  The 
Romans,  however,  boldly  crossed  over  into  Sicily,  and 
won  such  great  victories  that  Hiero  soon  made  peace  with 
them,  and  he  remained  friendly  to  Rome  as  long  as  he 
lived. 

The  Carthaginians  were  thus  left  to  carry  on  the  war 
without  the  help  of  Syracuse.  Now  while  the  Roman 
legions  were  noted  for  their  bravery  on  land,  the  Romans 
soon  realized  that  Carthage  would  have  the  advantage, 
because  it  had  so  many  ships. 

A  navy  was  needed  to  carry  on  the  war  with  any  hopes 
of  success,  and  as  the  Romans  had  no  vessels  of  war,  they 
began  right  away  to  build  some.  A  Carthaginian  quin- 
quereme,  wrecked  on  their  shores,  was  used  as  a  model. 
While  the  shipbuilders  were  making  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  galleys  which  were  to  compose  the  fleet,  the  future 
captains  trained  their  crews  of  rowers  by  daily  exercise  on 
shore. 

Such  was  the  energy  of  the  Romans  that  in  the  short 
space  of  two  months  the  fleet  was  ready.  As  the  Romans 
were  more  experienced  in  hand-to-hand  fighting  than  any 
other  mode  of  warfare,  each  ship  was  furnished  with  grap- 
pling hooks,  which  would  serve  to  hold  the  attacked  vessel 
fast,  and  would  permit  the  Roman  soldiers  to  board  it  and 
kill  the  crew. 

The  fleet  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Du-il'i-us 
Ne'pos,  who  met  the  Carthaginian  vessels  near  My'lae,  on 


124 

the  coast  of  Sicily,  and  defeated  them  completely.  Most 
of  the  enemy's  ships  were  taken  or  sunk,  and,  when 
Duilius  returned  to  Rome,  the  senate  awarded  him  the 
first  naval  triumph. 

In  the  procession,  the  conqueror  was. followed  by  his 
sailors,  bearing  the  bronze  beaks  of  the  Carthaginian  gal- 
leys which  they  had  taken.  These  beaks,  called  "rostra," 
were  afterwards  placed  on  a  column  in  the  Forum,  near 
the  orators'  stand,  which  was  itself  known  as  the  Ros'tra, 
because  it  was  already  adorned  by  similar  beaks  of 
ships. 

Duilius  was  further  honored  by  an  escort  of  flute  players 
and  torchbearers,  who  accompanied  him  home  from  every 
banquet  he  attended.  As  no  one  else  could  boast  of  such 
an  escort,  this  was  considered  a  great  privilege. 


&& 


XLIII.     REGULUS   AND   THE   SNAKE. 

THE  war  against  Carthage  lasted  many  years,  with  sun- 
dry interruptions.  The  Carthaginians  made  many 
promises  to  the  Romans,  but  broke  them  so  often  that 
"  Punic  faith  "  (that  is,  Carthaginian  faith)  came  to  mean 
the  same  as  treachery  or  deceit. 

When  both  parties  were  weary  of  the  long  struggle,  the 
Romans  resolved  to  end  it  by  carrying  the  war  into  Africa. 
An  army  was  therefore  sent  out  under  the  command  of 
Reg'u-lus.  The  men  landed  in  Africa,  where  a  new  and 
terrible  experience  awaited  them. 


125 

One  day,  shortly  after  their  arrival,  the  camp  was  thrown 
into  a  panic  by  the  appearance  of  one  of  the  monster 
snakes  for  which  Africa  is  noted,  but  which  the  Romans 
had  never  seen.  The  men  fled  in  terror,  and  the  serpent 
might  have  routed  the  whole  army,  had  it  not  been  for 
their  leader's  presence  of  mind. 

Instead  of  fleeing  with  the  rest,  Regulus  bravely  stood 
his  ground,  and  called  to  his  men  to  bring  one  of  the 
heavy  machines  with  which  they  intended  to  throw  stones 
into  Carthage.  He  saw  at  once  that  with  a  ballista,  or 
catapult,  as  these  machines  were  called,  they  could  stone 
the  snake  to  death  without  much  risk  to  themselves. 

Reassured  by  his  words  and  example,  the  men  obeyed, 
and  went  to  work  with  such  good  will  that  the  snake  was 
soon  slain.  Its  skin  was  kept  as  a  trophy  of  this  adven- 
ture, and  sent  to  Rome,  where  the  people  gazed  upon  it  in 
wonder;  for  we  are  told  that  the  monster  was  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  long.  Judging  by  this  account,  the 
"  snake  story  "  is  very  old  indeed,  and  the  Romans  evi- 
dently knew  how  to  exaggerate. 

Having  disposed  of  the  snake,  the  Roman  army  now 
proceeded  to  war  against  the  Carthaginians.  These  had 
the  larger  army,  and  many  fighting  elephants ;  so  the 
Romans  were  at  last  completely  defeated,  and  Regulus 
was  made  prisoner,  and  taken  into  Carthage  in  irons. 

The  Carthaginians  had  won  this  great  victory  under 
a  Greek  general  named  Xan-thip'pus,  to  whom,  of  course, 
the  people  were  very  grateful ;  but  it  is  said  that  they 
forgot  his  services,  and  ended  by  drowning  him. 

The  rulers  of  Carthage  soon  had  cause  to  regret  the  loss 
of  Xanthippus ;  for  the  Romans,  having  raised  a  new  army, 


126 


won  several  victories  in  Sicily,  and  drove  the  Carthaginian 
commander,  Has'dru-bal,  out  of  the  island. 

As  you  have  already  seen,  the  people  in  those  days 
rewarded  their  generals  when  successful;  but  when  a 
battle  was  lost,  they  were  apt  to  consider  the  general  as  a 
criminal,  and  to  punish  him  for  being  unlucky,  by  disgrace 
or  death.  So  when  Hasdrubal  returned  to  Carthage  de- 
feated, the  people  all  felt  indignant,  and  condemned  him 
to  die. 

Then  the  Carthaginians,  weary  of  a  war  which  had 
already  lasted  about  fifteen  years,  sent  an  embassy  to 
Rome  to  propose  peace ;  but  their  offers  were  refused. 
About  this  time  Regulus  was  killed  in  Carthage,  and  in 
later  times  the  Romans  told  a  story  of  him  which  you  will 
often  hear. 

They  said  that  the  Carthaginians  sent  Regulus  along 
with  the  embassy,  after  making  him  promise  to  come  back 
to  Carthage  if  peace  were  not  declared.  They  did  this 
thinking  that,  in  order  to  secure  his  freedom,  he  would 
advise  the  Romans  to  stop  the  war. 

Regulus,  however,  was  too  good  a  patriot  to  seek  his 
own  welfare  in  preference  to  that  of  his  country.  When 
asked  his  advice  by  the  Roman  senate,  he  bade  them  con- 
tinue the  fight,  and  then,  although  they  tried  to  detain  him 
in  Rome,  he  insisted  upon  keeping  his  promise  and  return- 
ing to  captivity. 

When  he  arrived  in  Carthage  with  the  embassy,  and  it 
became  known  that  he  had  advised  the  continuation  of  the 
war,  the  people  were  furious,  and  put  him  to  death  with 
frightful  tortures. 

The  war  went  on  for  seven  or  eight  years  more,  until 


Regulus. 


C127) 


128 


even  the  Romans  longed  for  peace.  A  truce  was  then 
made  between  Rome  and  Carthage,  which  put  an  end  to 
the  greatest  war  the  Romans  had  yet  waged,  —  the  strug- 
gle which  is  known  in  history  as  the  First  Punic  War. 


&K< 


XLIV.     HANNIBAL   CROSSES   THE   ALPS. 

THE  peace  won  thus  after  years  of  fighting  was  very 
welcome,  and  the  Romans  gladly  closed  the  Temple 
of  Janus,  for  the  first  time  since  the  days  of  Numa  Pom- 
pilius,  the  second  king  of  Rome. 

As  there  was  no  fighting  to  be  done  anywhere,  the  peo- 
ple now  began  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace.  For  the 
first  time  in  their  busy  lives,  they  took  a  deep  interest  in 
poetry,  and  enjoyed  satires,  tragedies,  and  comedies.  But 
while  the  first  style  of  poetry  was  an  invention  of  their 
own,  they  borrowed  the  others  from  the  Greeks. 

As  they  knew  that  an  inactive  life  would  not  please 
them  long,  they  made  sundry  improvements  in  their  arms 
and  defenses,  and  prepared  for  future  wars.  Then,  to 
prevent  their  weapons  from  rusting,  they  joined  the 
A-chse'ans  in  making  war  against  the  pirates  who  infested 
the  Adriatic  Sea. 

Soon  after  this,  the  Gauls  again  invaded  Italy,  and  came 
down  into  Etruria,  within  three  days'  march  of  Rome. 
The  citizens  flew  to  arms  to  check  their  advance,  and 
defeated  them  in  a  pitched  battle.  Forty  thousand  of 
the  barbarians  were  killed,  and  ten  thousand  were  made 
prisoners. 


I2Q 

In  a  second  encounter,  the  King  of  the  Gauls  was  slain, 
and  the  people  bought  peace  from  the  victorious  Romans 
by  giving  up  to  them  all  the  land  which  they  occupied  in 
the  northern  part  of  Italy. 

While  Rome  was  thus  busy  making  many  conquests, 
the  Carthaginians  had  not  been  idle  either.  In  a  very 
short  time  their  trade  was  as  brisk  as  ever,  and  they 
conquered  about  half  of  Spain.  Then  as  soon  as  they 
earned  enough  money,  and  finished  their  preparations, 
they  broke  the  treaty  they  had  made  with  Rome,  by 
besieging  Sa-gun'tum,  a  Spanish  city  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Romans. 

The  Roman  senate  sent  an  ambassador  to  Carthage  to 
complain  of  this  breach  of  the  treaty,  and  to  ask  that  the 
general  who  had  taken  Saguntum  should  be  given  up  to 
them.  This  general  was  Han'ni-bal,  a  man  who  hated  the 
Romans  even  more  than  he  loved  his  own  country.  When 
only  a  little  boy,  he  had  taken  a  solemn  oath  upon  the 
altar  of  one  of  the  Carthaginian  gods,  that  he  would  fight 
Rome  as  long  as  he  lived. 

Hannibal  was  a  born  leader,  and  his  dignity,  endurance, 
and  presence  of  mind  made  him  one  of  the  most  famous 
generals  of  ancient  times.  The  Carthaginians  had  not  yet 
had  much  chance  to  try  his  skill,  but  they  were  not  at  all 
ready  to  give  him  up.  When  the  Roman  ambassador, 
Fabius,  saw  this,  he  strode  into  their  assembly  with  his 
robe  drawn  together,  as  if  it  concealed  some  hidden  object. 

"  Here  I  bring  you  peace  or  war !  H  he  said.  "  Choose!" 
The  Carthaginians,  nothing  daunted  by  his  proud  bearing, 
coolly  answered  :  "  Choose  yourself! " 

"  Then  it  is  war ! "  replied  Fabius,  and  he  at  once  turned 

STO.  OF  ROM.  —  9 


i3o 

away  and  went  back  to  Rome  to  make  known  the  result  of 
his  mission. 

Hannibal,  in  the  mean  while,  continued  the  war  in 
Spain,  and  when  he  had  forced  his  way  to  the  north 
of  the  country,  he  led  his  army  of  more  than  fifty  thou- 
sand men  over  the  Pyr'e-nees  and  across  Gaul.  His 
object  was  to  enter  Italy  by  the  north,  and  carry  on 
the  war  there  instead  of  elsewhere.  Although  it  was 
almost  winter,  and  the  huge  barrier  of  the  Alps  rose 
before  him,  he  urged  his  men  onward. 

Tht  undertaking  seemed  impossible,  and  would  never 
have  been  attempted  by  a  less  determined  man.  Thanks 
to  Hannibal's  coolness  and  energy,  however,  the  army 
wound  steadily  upward  along  the  precipices,  and  through 
the  snow.  Although  over  half  the  men  perished  from 
cold,  or  from  the  attacks  of  the  hostile  inhabitants,  the 
remainder  came  at  last  to  the  Italian  plains.  It  had  taken 
a  whole  fortnight  to  cross  the  Alps. 


>xk< 


XLV.     THE   ROMANS    DEFEATED. 

WHEN  the  Romans  heard  of  Hannibal's  approach, 
the  consul  Scip'i-o  advanced  with  an  army  to 
fight  him,  and  the  two  forces  met  face  to  face  near  the 
river  Ti-ci'nus.  Here  a  battle  took  place,  and  Hannibal, 
reenforced  by  Gallic  troops,  won  a  brilliant  victory. 

A  second  battle  was  fought  and  won  by  stratagem  at 
the  river  Tre'bi-a,  where  a  frightful  slaughter  of  the 
Romans    took    place.     Beaten   back   twice,  the    Romans 


I3i 

rallied  again,  only  to  meet  with  a  still  greater  defeat  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Tras-i-me'nus.  In  their  distress  at 
the  news  of  these  repeated  disasters,  the  Roman  people 
gave  the  command  of  their  army  to  Fabius,  a  man  noted 
for  his  courage  no  less  than  for  his  caution. 

Fabius  soon  perceived  that  the  Romans  were  not  able 
to  conquer  Hannibal  in  a  pitched  battle,  and,  instead  of 
meeting  him  openly,  he  skirmished  around  him,  cutting  off 
his  supplies,  and  hindering  his  advance.  On  one  occa- 
sion, by  seizing  a  mountain  pass,  Fabius  even  managed 
to  hedge  the  Carthaginians  in,  and  fancied  that  he  could 
keep  them  prisoners  and  starve  them  into  submission ;  but 
Hannibal  soon  made  his  escape.  By  his  order,  the  oxen 
which  went  with  the  army  to  supply  it  with  food,  and  to 
drag  the  baggage,  were  all  gathered  together.  Torches 
were  fastened  securely  to  their  horns,  and  then  lighted. 
Blinded  and  terrified,  the  oxen  stampeded,  and  rushed 
right  through  the  Roman  troops,  who  were  forced  to  give 
way  so  as  not  to  be  crushed  to  death.  The  Carthaginians 
then  cleverly  took  advantage  of  the  confusion  and  dark- 
ness to  make  their  way  out  of  their  dangerous  position, 
and  thus  escaped  in  safety. 

Fabius  was  now  obliged  to  share  his  command  with 
another  general,  who  did  not  like  his  plan  of  avoiding  an 
open  battle.  This  general  advanced  against  Hannibal  and 
began  to  fight ;  but  he  would  have  paid  dearly  for  his 
imprudence,  had  not  Fabius  come  to  his  rescue  just  in 
time  to  save  him. 

By  pursuing  these  cautious  tactics,  which  have  since 
often  been  called  the  "  Fabian  policy,"  Fabius  prevented 
Hannibal  from  gaining  any  great  advantage.     But  when 


132 

his  time  of  office  was  ended,  his  successors,  the  consuls 
Var'ro  and  yE-mil'i-us,  thinking  they  would  act  more 
wisely,  and  end  the  war,  again  ventured  to  fight  the 
Carthaginians. 

The  battle  took  place  at  Can'nae,  and  the  Romans  were 
again  defeated,  with  very  great  loss.  yEmilius  fell,  but 
not  till  he  had  sent  a  last  message  to  Rome,  bidding  the 
people  strengthen  their  fortifications,  and  acknowledging 
that  it  would  have  been  far  wiser  to  have  pursued  the 
Fabian  policy. 

So  many  Romans  were  slain  on  this  fatal  day  at  Cannae 
that  Hannibal  is  said  to  have  sent  to  Carthage  one  peck  of 
gold  rings,  taken  from  the  fingers  of  the  dead  knights,  who 
alone  wore  them. 

When  the  tidings  of  the  defeat  came  to  Rome,  the  sor- 
rowing people  began  to  fear  that  Hannibal  would  march 
against  them  while  they  were  defenseless,  and  that  he 
would  thus  become  master  of  the  city.  In  their  terror, 
they  again  appealed  to  Fabius,  who  soon  restored  courage 
and  order,  called  all  the  citizens  to  arms,  and  drilled  even 
the  slaves  to  fight. 

Hannibal,  in  the  mean  while,  had  gone  to  Cap'u-a,  where 
he  wished  to  spend  the  winter,  and  to  give  his  men  a  chance 
to  recruit  after  their  long  journey  and  great  fatigues.  The 
climate  was  so  delightful,  the  food  so  plentiful,  and  the  hot 
baths  so  inviting,  that  many  of  the  Carthaginians  grew  fat 
and  lazy,  and  before  they  had  spent  many  months  there, 
they  were  no  longer  able  to  fight  well. 

Ever  since  then,  when  people  think  too  much  of  ease, 
and  not  enough  of  duty,  they  are  said  to  be  "  languishing 
in  the  delights  of  Capua." 


133 


XLVI.     THE   INVENTOR   ARCHIMEDES. 

HIERO,  King  of  Syracuse,  died  shortly  after  the  battle 
of  Cannae.  He  had  helped  the  Romans  much,  but 
his  successors  soon  made  an  alliance  with  the  Carthagin- 
ians, and  declared  war  against  Rome. 

The  Romans,  however,  had  taken  new  courage  from 
the  welcome  news  that  Hannibal  had  decided  upon  going 
to  Capua,  instead  of  marching  straight  on  to  Rome.  As 
soon  as  some  of  the  new  troops  could  be  spared,  there- 
fore, they  were  sent  over  to  Sicily,  under  the  command 
of  Mar-ceFlus,  with  orders  to  besiege  Syracuse.  This 
was  a  very  great  undertaking,  for  the  city  was  strongly 
fortified,  and  within  its  walls  was  Ar-chi-me'des,  one  of 
the  most  famous  mathematicians  and  inventors  that  have 
ever  been  known. 

He  had  discovered  that  even  the  heaviest  weights  could 
be  handled  with  ease  by  means  of  pulleys  and  levers ;  and 
he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed :  "  Give  me  a  long  enough 
lever  and  a  spot  whereon  to  rest  it,  and  I  will  lift  the 
world." 

Archimedes  made  use  of  his  great  talents  to  invent  all 
sorts  of  war  engines.  He  taught  the  Syr-a-cus'ans  how 
to  fashion  stone  catapults  of  great  power,  and  large  grap- 
pling hooks  which  swung  over  the  sea,  caught  the  ene- 
my's vessels,  and  overturned  them  in  the  water.  He  is 
also  said  to  have  devised  a  very  clever  arrangement  of 
mirrors  and  burning  glasses,  by  means  of  which  he  could 
set  fire  to  the  Roman  ships.  To  prevent  the  Syracusan 
ships  from  sinking  when  they  had  water  in  their  holds, 


134 

he  invented  a  water   screw  which  could  be  used   for   a 
pump. 

Thanks  to  the  skill  of  Archimedes,  the  Syracusans  man- 
aged to  hold  out  very  long ;  but  finally  the  Romans  forced 
their  way  into  the  town.  They  were  so  angry  with  the 
people  for  holding  out  so  long  that  they  plundered  the 
whole  city,  and  killed  many  of  the  inhabitants. 

A  Roman  soldier  rushed  into  the  house  where  Archime- 
des was  sitting  so  absorbed  in  his  calculations  that  he  was 
not  even  aware  that  the  city  had  been  taken.  The  soldier, 
not  knowing  who  this  student  was,  killed  him  without 
warning. 

Marcellus,  the  Roman  general,  had  given  orders  that 
the  inventor  should  be  spared,  and  was  very  sorry  to  hear 
that  he  was  dead.  To  do  Archimedes  honor,  he  ordered 
a  fine  funeral,  which  was  attended  by  Romans  and  Syra- 
cusans alike. 

In  the  mean  while,  Hannibal  was  beginning  to  lose 
ground  in  Italy ;  and  the  Carthaginians  who  were  left 
in  Spain  had  been  obliged  to  fight  many  battles.  Their 
leader  was  Hasdrubal,  the  brother  of  Hannibal,  while  the 
Romans  were  commanded  by  the  two  Scipios. 

These  two  generals  were  at  last  both  unlucky  ;  but  their 
successor,  another  Scipio,  defeated  the  Carthaginians  so 
many  times  that  the  whole  country  became  at  last  a 
Roman  province.  Escaping  from  Spain,  Hasdrubal  pre- 
pared to  follow  the  road  his  brother  had  taken,  so  as  to 
join  him  in  southern  Italy. 

He  never  reached  Hannibal,  however  ;  for  after  crossing 
the  Alps  he  was  attacked  and  slain,  with  all  his  army. 
The   Romans  who  won  this  great  victory  then  hastened 


Archimedes. 


(135) 


136 

south  and  threw  Hasdrubal's  head  into  his  brother's  camp ; 
and  this  was  the  first  news  that  Hannibal  had  of  the  great 
disaster. 

All  the  luck  in  the  beginning  of  this  war  had  been  on 
the  side  of  the  Carthaginians.  But  fortune  had  now  for- 
saken them  completely ;  and  Hannibal,  after  meeting  with 
another  defeat,  went  back  with  his  army  to  Carthage, 
because  he  heard  that  Scipio  had  come  from  Spain  to 
besiege  the  city. 

The  country  to  the  west  of  Carthage,  called  Nu-mid'i-a, 
was  at  this  time  mostly  divided  between  two  rival  kings. 
One  of  them,  Mas-i-nis'sa,  sent  his  soldiers  to  help  Scipio 
as  soon  as  he  crossed  over  to  Africa,  and  the  Romans 
could  not  but  admire  the  fine  horsemanship  of  these  men. 
They  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Ber'bers,  who  live  in  the 
same  region  to-day  and  are  still  fine  riders. 

Sy'phax,  the  rival  of  Masinissa,  joined  the  Carthaginians, 
who  promised  to  make  him  king  of  all  Numidia  if  they 
succeeded  in  winning  the  victory  over  their  enemies. 
With  their  help  he  fought  three  great  battles  against  the 
Romans,  but  in  each  one  he  was  badly  defeated,  and  in 
the  last  he  was  made  prisoner. 

After  Hannibal  came,  he  soon  met  the  invaders  near 
Za'ma,  and  a  great  battle  was  fought,  in  which  Scipio  and 
Masinissa  gained  the  victory.  In  their  despair,  the  Car- 
thaginians proposed  to  make  peace.  The  Romans  con- 
sented, and  the  Second  Punic  War  ended,  after  it  had  raged 
about  seventeen  years. 

On  his  return  to  Rome,  Scipio  was  honored  by  receiving 
the  surname  of  Af-ri-ca'nus,  and  by  a  grand  triumph,  in 
which  Syphax  followed  his  car,  chained  like  a  slave.     But 


137 

although  the  Romans  cheered  Scipio  wildly,  and  lavished 
praises  upon  him,  they  soon  accused  him  of  having  wrong- 
fully taken  possession  of  some  of  the  gold  he  had  won  dur- 
ing his  campaigns. 

This  base  accusation  was  brought  soon  after  Scipio  had 
helped  to  win  some  great  victories  in  Asia,  of  which  you 
will  soon  hear;  and  it  made  him  so  angry  that  he  left 
Rome  forever.  He  withdrew  to  his  country  house  in 
Cam-pa'ni-a,  a  part  of  Italy  to  the  southeast  of  Rome. 

Here  he  remained  as  long  as  he  lived;  and  when  he 
died  he  left  orders  that  his  bones  should  not  rest  in  a  city 
which  had  proved  so  ungrateful  as  Rome. 


>»« 


XLVII.     THE   ROMAN    CONQUESTS. 

YOU  might  think  that  the  Romans  had  all  they  could 
do  to  fight  the  Carthaginians  in  Spain,  Italy,  and 
Africa;  but  even  while  the  Second  Punic  War  was  still 
raging,  they  were  also  obliged  to  fight  Phil'ip  V.,  King  of 
Macedon. 

As  soon  as  the  struggle  with  Carthage  was  ended,  the 
war  with  Philip  was  begun  again  in  earnest.  The  army 
was  finally  placed  under  the  command  of  Flam-i-ni'nus, 
who  defeated  Philip,  and  compelled  him  to  ask  for  peace. 
Then  he  told  the  Greeks,  who  had  long  been  oppressed 
by  the  Macedonians,  that  they  were  free  from  further 
tyranny. 

This  announcement  was  made  by  Flamininus  himself 
at  the  celebration  of  the  Isth'mi-an  Games  ;   and  when  the 


•38 

Greeks  heard  that  they  were  free,  they  sent  up  such 
mighty  shouts  of  joy  that  it  is  said  that  a  flock  of  birds 
fell  down  to  the  earth  quite  stunned. 

To  have  triumphed  over  the  Carthaginians  and  Mace- 
donians was  not  enough  for  the  Romans.  They  had  won 
much  land  by  these  wars,  but  were  now  longing  to  get 
more.  They  therefore  soon  began  to  fight  against  An-ti'o- 
chus,  King  of  Syr'i-a,  who  had  been  the  ally  of  the  Mace- 
donians, and  now  threatened  the  Greeks. 

Although  Antiochus  was  not  a  great  warrior  himself,  he 
had  at  his  court  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  the  ancient 
world.  This  was  Hannibal,  whom  the  Carthaginians  had 
exiled,  and  while  he  staid  there  he  once  met  his  conqueror, 
Scipio,  and  the  two  generals  had  many  talks  together. 

On  one  occasion,  Scipio  is  said  to  have  asked  Hannibal 
who  was  the  greatest  general  the  world  had  ever  seen. 

"Alexander!"  promptly  answered  Hannibal. 

"Whom  do  you  rank  next?"  continued  Scipio. 

"Pyrrhus." 

"And  after  Pyrrhus?" 

"  Myself  !  "  said  the  Carthaginian,  proudly. 

"  Where  would  you  have  placed  yourself  if  you  had  con- 
quered me  ?  "  asked  Scipio. 

"  Above  Pyrrhus,  and  Alexander,  and  all  the  other  gen- 
erals  !  "  Hannibal  exclaimed. 

If  Antiochus  had  followed  Hannibal's  advice,  he  might, 
perhaps,  have  conquered  the  Romans ;  but  although  he 
had  a  much  greater  army  than  theirs,  he  was  soon  driven 
out  of  Greece,  and  defeated  in  Asia  on  land  and  sea  by 
another  Scipio  (a  brother  of  Africanus),  who  thus  won  the 
title  of  A-si-at'i-cus. 


139 

Then  the  Romans  forced  Antiochus  to  give  up  all 
his  land  in  Asia  Minor  northwest  of  the  Tau'rus  Moun- 
tains, and  also  made  him  agree  to  surrender  his  guest, 
Hannibal.  He  did  not  keep  this  promise,  however;  for 
Hannibal  fled  to  Bi-thyn'i-a,  where,  finding  that  he  could 
no  longer  escape  from  his  lifelong  enemies,  he  killed  him- 
self by  swallowing  the  poison  contained  in  a  little  hollow 
in  a  ring  which  he  always  wore. 

The  Romans  had  allowed  Philip  to  keep  the  crown  of 
Macedon  on  condition  that  he  should  obey  them.  He 
did  so,  but  his  successor,  Per'se-us,  hated  the  Romans, 
and  made  a  last  desperate  effort  to  regain  his  freedom. 
The  attempt  was  vain,  however,  and  he  was  finally  and 
completely  defeated  at  Pyd'na. 

Perseus  was  then  made  a  prisoner  and  carried  off  to 
Italy,  to  grace  the  Roman  general's  triumph ;  and  Mace- 
don (or  Macedonia),  the  most  powerful  country  in  the 
world  under  the  rule  of  Alexander,  was  reduced  to  the 
rank  of  a  Roman  province,  after  a  few  more  vain  attempts 
to  recover  its  independence. 


>&ic 


XLVITI.     DESTRUCTION   OF   CARTHAGE. 

WHILE  Rome  was  thus  little  by  little  extending  its 
powers  in  the  East,  the  Carthaginians  were  slowly 
recovering  from  the  Second  Punic  War,  which  had  proved 
so  disastrous  for  them.  The  Romans,  in  the  mean  while, 
felt  no  great  anxiety  about  Carthage,  because  their  ally, 
Masinissa,  was  still  king  of  Numidia,  and  was  expected  to 


i4o 

keep  the  senate  informed  of  all  that  was  happening  in 
Africa. 

But  after  the  peace  had  lasted  about  fifty  years,  and 
Carthage  had  got  over  her  losses,  and  again  amassed  much 
wealth,  some  of  the  Romans  felt  quite  sure  that  the  time 
would  come  when  the  contest  would  be  renewed.  Others, 
however,  kept  saying  that  Carthage  should  be  entirely 
crushed  before  she  managed  to  get  strength  enough  to 
fight. 

One  man  in  Rome  was  so  much  in  favor  of  this  latter 
plan  that  he  spoke  of  it  on  every  opportunity.  This  was 
Ca'to,  the  censor,  a  stern  and  proud  old  man,  who  ended 
every  one  of  the  speeches  which  he  made  before  the 
senate,  by  saying:  "Carthage  must  be  destroyed!" 

He  repeated  these  words  so  often  and  so  persistently 
that  by  and  by  the  Romans  began  to  think  as  he  did ;  and 
they  were  not  at  all  sorry  when  the  King  of  Numidia 
broke  the  peace  and  began  what  is  known  in  history  as 
the  Third  Punic  War. 

The  Carthaginians,  worsted  in  the  first  encounter,  were 
very  anxious  to  secure  peace.  Indeed,  they  were  so 
anxious  that  they  once  gave  up  all  their  arms  at  the 
request  of  Rome.  But  after  making  them  give  up  nearly 
all  they  owned,  the  Romans  finally  ordered  them  to  leave 
their  beautiful  city  so  that  it  could  be  destroyed,  and  this 
they  refused  to  do. 

As  peace  was  not  possible,  the  Carthaginians  then  made 
up  their  minds  to  fight  bravely,  and  to  sell  their  liberty  only 
with  their  lives.  Their  arms  having  been  taken  away  from 
them,  all  the  metal  in  town  was  collected  for  new  weapons. 
Such  was  the  love  of  the  people  for  their  city  that  the 


141 

inhabitants  gave  all  their  silver  and  gold  for  its  defense, 
to  make  the  walls  stronger. 

Not  content  with  giving  up  their  jewelry,  the  Cartha- 
ginian women  cut  off  their  long  hair  to  make  ropes  and 
bowstrings,  and  went  out  with  their  oldest  children  to 
work  at  the  fortifications,  which  were  to  be  strengthened 
to  resist  the  coming  attack.  Every  child  old  enough  to 
walk,  fired  by  the  example  of  all  around  him,  man- 
aged to  carry  a  stone  or  sod  to  help  in  the  work  of 
defense. 

The  siege  began,  and,  under  the  conduct  of  Hasdrubal, 
their  general,  the  Carthaginians  held  out  so  bravely  that 
at  the  end  of  five  years  Carthage  was  still  free.  The 
Romans,  under  various  commanders,  vainly  tried  to  sur- 
prise the  city,  but  it  was  only  when  Scipio  ^E-mil-i-a'nus 
broke  down  the  harbor  wall  that  his  army  managed  to 
enter  Carthage. 

The  Romans  were  so  angry  at  the  long  resistance  of 
their  enemies  that  they  slew  many  of  the  men,  made  all 
the  women  captives,  pillaged  the  town,  and  then  set  fire 
to  it.  Next  the  mighty  walls  were  razed,  and  Carthage, 
the  proud  city  which  had  rivaled  Rome  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years,  was  entirely  destroyed. 

Thus  ended  the  third  and  last  Punic  War,  and  the 
heroic  defense  of  the  city  which  the  Romans  had  always 
feared,  and  which  they  would  not  allow  to  stand  lest  it 
should  some  day  become  powerful  enough  to  rule  them. 

That  same  year,  after  secretly  encouraging  all  the  Greek 
cities  to  quarrel  among  themselves,  the  Romans  went  over 
to  Greece,  and  soon  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
whole  country.     They  destroyed  Cor'inth  in  the  same  way 


142 

as  Carthage,  and  bore  away  from  it  countless  treasures  of 
art,  which  they  were  yet  too  ignorant  to  appreciate. 

Not  long  afterwards,  a  third  town  shared  the  terrible 
fate  of  Carthage  and  Corinth.  This  was  Nu-man'ti-a,  in 
Spain,  whose  walls  were  successfully  defended  against  the 
Romans  until  supplies  failed  and  many  of  the  inhabitants 
had  starved  to  death.  Too  weak  to  fight  any  longer,  the 
remainder  saw  their  town  leveled  with  the  ground,  and 
were  then  sold  into  slavery. 


Dttt 


XLIX.     ROMAN   AMUSEMENTS. 

THE  Romans  by  this  time  had  entirely  forgotten  their 
old  simple  ways.  As  their  lands  increased  with  each 
new  victory,  so  did  their  wealth  and  their  pride.  Instead 
of  comprising  only  the  city  on  the  seven  hills,  and  a  few 
neighboring  villages,  the  Roman  republic  now  extended 
over  most  of  Italy.  The  Roman  provinces,  moreover, 
which  were  governed  by  officers  sent  out  from  Rome, 
included  large  territories  in  Spain,  Africa,  and  Asia 
Minor,  besides  Greece,  Macedonia,  and  northern  Italy. 

From  these  conquered  countries  the  Romans  had 
brought  home  all  the  spoil  they  had  been  able  to  gather 
together.  They  thus  had  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  jewels 
of  all  kinds,  fine  cloths,  beautiful  furniture,  and  gems  of 
painting  and  sculpture.  They  began  to  rival  each  other 
in  the  magnificence  of  their  houses  and  dress,  and  in 
their  delicately  spread  tables. 

There' were  more  than  three  times  as  many  slaves  as 


143 

freeborn  citizens,  owing  to  the  many  prisoners  that  were 
taken  during  these  wars;  so  all  the  rich  Romans  had 
plenty  of  servants,  and  soon  learned  to  be  idle  and  hard 
to  please. 

Some  of  these  slaves  were  far  better  educated  than  their 
masters ;  for,  with  the  conquest  of  Greece,  many  teachers 
and  philosophers  had  been  brought  from  there  to  instruct 
the  Roman  children.  These  men  taught  their  pupils  how 
to  read  Greek,  so  that  they  could  enjoy  all  the  fine  and 
interesting  things  which  had  been  written  in  that  lan- 
guage; for  the  Romans  had  been  so  busy  fighting  until 
now,  that  they  had  had  no  time  to  write  histories,  stories, 
poems,  and  plays  of  their  own. 

The  Greek  slaves,  moreover,  translated  many  of  the 
masterpieces  of  their  own  literature  into  Latin,  the  lan- 
guage spoken  by  all  the  Romans.  Thus  the  Romans  soon 
learned  all  about  the  heroes  of  Greece,  read  the  teachings 
of  their  philosophers,  and  listened  to  their  tragedies  and 
comedies,  which  were  played  in  the  Roman  theaters. 

From  the  countries  they  had  conquered,  the  Romans 
had  also  brought  back  statues  of  the  gods,  and  priests  to 
serve  them.  These  statues  were  later  placed  in  a  fine 
building,  called  the  Pan'the-on,  or  home  for  all  the  gods, 
where  the  Romans  worshiped  them  as  well  as  their  own 
divinities. 

You  have  already  heard  that  the  Romans  delighted  in 
processions  and  shows,  so  you  will  easily  understand  that 
they  encouraged  their  priests  to  celebrate  the  festivals  of 
these  foreign  gods,  too.  Then  the  Romans  themselves 
took  part  in  all  these  processions  with  as  much  zest  as  if 
they  had  been  in  honor  of  their  own  gods. 


(144) 


H5 

Another  change  which  had  taken  place  was  that  the 
Romans  had  become  harsher  and  more  selfish.  They  had 
made  war  so  long  that  they  now  delighted  in  cruelty  and 
excitement.  To  satisfy  this  craving,  they  built  great 
circuses,  with  raised  seats  all  around  the  pit  or  arena,  and 
came  in  throngs  to  watch  their  slaves  fight  against  each 
other  or  against  wild  beasts. 

To  make  the  show  more  exciting,  some  of  the  rich  citi- 
zens had  their  slaves  carefully  trained  for  these  combats. 
As  they  fought  with  a  short  sword,  which  in  Latin  is 
called  gladiuSy  they  were  known  as  gladiators,  or  swords- 
men. These  poor  men  were  well  fed,  and  comfortably 
housed,  but  only  so  that  they  might  grow  handsome  and 
strong  and  excite  more  admiration  when  they  appeared 
in  the  arena  to  fight.  They  were  also  taught  to  bow, 
and  walk,  and  even  to  fall  and  die  gracefully,  so  as  to 
afford  the  cruel  Romans  still  more  pleasure. 

When  a  gladiator  fell  after  a  brave  resistance,  the 
people  sometimes  wished  to  save  his  life,  so  that  he  could 
recover  and  come  and  amuse  them  again.  As  a  signal  to 
his  opponent  to  spare  him,  they  clapped  their  hands  and 
waved  their  handkerchiefs.  But  if  the  poor  gladiator  had 
failed  to  please  them,  they  ruthlessly  turned  their  thumbs 
down,  and  thus  condemned  him  to  instant  death,  which 
they  viewed  with  great  indifference. 

An'dro-clus,  a  slave,  was  once  sent  into  the  arena  to 
fight  a  lion.  The  people  were  surprised  to  see  the  beast 
fawn  upon,  instead  of  attacking,  him.  But  when  Andro- 
clus  explained  that  once  when  he  was  in  the  desert  he 
had  drawn  a  thorn  out  of  the  lion's  paw,  they  were  so 
pleased  that  they  bade  him  go  free,  and  gave  him  the  lion. 

STO.  OF  ROM.  —  IO 


146 


L.     THE  JEWELS   OF   CORNELIA. 

THE  Romans  attended  the  circus  so  frequently  that 
they  daily  learned  to  become  more  cruel  and  blood- 
thirsty; and  they  were  in  general  very  unkind  to  their 
slaves.  Most  of  these  were  ill  clad  and  ill  fed,  and  were 
made  to  work  very  hard.  They  were  severely  whipped 
for  every  act  of  disobedience,  but  they  were  seldom 
rewarded  or  set  free. 

The  Roman  citizens  themselves,  however,  could  do 
almost  anything  they  pleased.  When  brought  before  a 
judge  for  any  offense,  they  were  sure  of  very  lenient  treat- 
ment, while  all  the  slaves,  or  any  who  were  not  Roman 
citizens,  were  treated  with  the  greatest  severity  for  the 
same  crimes. 

Thus  the  mere  name  of  Roman  citizen  was  a  safeguard, 
for  none  dared  illtreat  him  who  bore  it.  This  protection 
was  given  even  to  criminals  who  were  sentenced  to  death ; 
and  while  other  men  could  be  crucified,  a  Roman  was 
never  made  to  submit  to  that  disgrace,  but  was  executed 
by  the  sword. 

With  the  increase  in  wealth  and  luxury,  the  contrast 
between  the  rich  and  poor  classes  became  more  marked 
than  ever.  The  rich  reveled  in  plenty,  while  the  poor 
almost  starved.  Some  of  the  richest  Romans  of  this  time 
are  said  to  have  paid  their  cooks  five  thousand  dollars  a 
year;  but  none  of  them  thought  of  the  poor,  who  then  had 
no  hospitals,  or  homes,  or  charity  bureaus  to  go  to  when  in 
need  of  help. 

As  you  have  already  heard,  the  plebeians  had  at  last 


'47 

gained  complete  equality  with  the  patricians,  even  in  re- 
gard to  the  holding  of  office.  The  struggle  between  these 
two  classes  was  over ;  and  in  its  stead  there  had  begun  a 
contest  between  the  rich  and  the  poor.  Some  of  the 
plebeians  had  become  wealthy,  and  they  and  the  old 
patricians  formed  a  new  class  of  nobles,  who  tried  to  keep 
all  the  offices  in  their  hands,  and  to  make  themselves  still 
richer. 

The  land  had  at  first  been  distributed  among  all  the 
citizens,  but  it  had  now  become  the  property  of  a  few  rich 
men,  who  had  it  cultivated  by  their  own  slaves,  and 
refused  to  sell  the  grain  and  vegetables  at  reasonable 
prices.  The  result  was  that  many  of  the  poor  plebeians, 
deprived  of  land,  and  unable  to  secure  work,  crowded  into 
the  city.  There  they  would  have  died  of  hunger,  had  not 
their  own  magistrates,  the  tribunes,  sometimes  dealt  out  to 
them  daily  rations  of  grain. 

This  idle  and  pauper  class  was  growing  always  larger, 
and  as  the  people  had  nothing  to  do,  they  were  unhappy 
and  ready  for  mischief.  Except  for  the  circus,  their  only 
pleasure  was  to  stand  along  the  streets,  and  watch  the 
religious  processions  or  the  triumphs ;  and  the  returning 
generals  soon  found  that  the  people  would  not  even  take 
the  trouble  to  cheer  them  as  of  old,  unless  they  scattered 
handfuls  of  small  coin  as  they  passed  along. 

Many  years  before  this,  a  law  had  been  made  forbidding 
any  Roman  citizen  to  own  more  than  a  certain  amount  of 
land.  This  law,  which  is  known  as  the  Li-cin'i-an  Law, 
did  not  please  the  rich  men,  so  they  paid  no  attention  to 
it.  But  it  was  now  time  that  it  should  be  enforced,  and 
that  some  one  should  take  the  part  of  the  oppressed  people. 


i48 

The  poor  needed  a  champion  who  would  fight  for  their 
rights,  and  they  soon  found  an  excellent  one  in  the  brave 
young  Ti-be'ri-us  Grac'chus,  whom  they  elected  to  the 
office  of  tribune.  This  man  was  clever  and  fearless,  and  the 
people  knew  that  he  would  do  his  very  best  to  help  them. 

Tiberius  Gracchus,  the  champion  of  the  poor,  belonged 
to  one  of  the  most  noted  families  of  Rome.  His  father 
was  a  noble  plebeian,  and  his  mother,  Cor-ne'li-a,  was  the 
daughter  of  Scipio  Africanus,  the  great  general  who  had 
defeated  the  Carthaginians  in  the  Second  Punic  War. 

Cornelia,  we  are  told,  was  a  noble  woman  and  an  ex- 
cellent mother.  She  brought  up  her  two  sons  herself,  and 
felt  very  proud  of  them.  A  noble  Roman  lady  once 
asked  her  to  show  her  ornaments,  after  she  had  displayed 
her  own  ;  and  Cornelia  called  her  boys,  and  said : 

"These  are  my  jewels  !  " 

On  another  occasion,  some  people  were  speaking  of  her 
father,  and  of  all  he  had  done,  and  were  congratulat- 
ing her  upon  being  the  daughter  of  so  great  a  man. 
Cornelia,  however,  replied  that  she  was  prouder  still  of 
being  called  the  mother  of  the  Grac'chi ;  that  is,  of  Tibe- 
rius and  Ca'ius  Gracchus. 


>>Kc 


LI.     THE   DEATH    OF  TIBERIUS   GRACCHUS. 

AS  soon  as  Tiberius  was  elected  tribune,  he  began  to 
make  speeches  in  the  Forum,  saying  boldly  that  it 
was  a  shame  that  the  Licinian  Law  should  not  be  en- 
forced, and  that  the  land  ought  to  be  distributed  again. 


I** 


149 

He  clearly  showed  how  bad  it  was  for  the  poor  plebeians 
to  have  no  land  and  no  work ;  and  he  insisted  that  they 
should  be  placed  in  a  position  to  earn  their  living. 

The  poor  men,-  who  were  eager  to  work,  listened  to  these 
speeches  with  delight;  but  the  rich  men,  who  held  the 
land,  and  did  not  wish  to  part  with  any  of  it,  were  very 
angry  at  the  bold  tribune. 

Another  cause  of  displeasure  among  the  patricians  was 
this :  At'ta-lus,  King  of  Perrga-mus,  in  Asia  Minor,  left  all 
his  wealth  to  Rome  when  he  died.  As  soon  as  Tiberius 
heard  of  it,  he  suggested  that  the  money  should  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  poor,  instead  of  being  given  as  usual 
to  the  rich,  who  already  had  too  much. 

But  in  spite  of  all  Tiberius'  speeches,  the  poor  obtained 
no  help  from  the  wealth  of  Attalus.  The  rich  men  and 
the  senate  also  opposed  the  tribune  as  much  as  possible  in 
his  efforts  to  have  the  Licinian  Law  renewed;  but  the 
young  man  finally  persuaded  the  people  to  pass  another 
law  like  it,  and  to  appoint  three  men  to  divide  the  surplus 
land  among  the  poor. 

The  senators  saw  that  they  would  never  be  able  to 
silence  Tiberius,  and  they  were  afraid  that  he  would  carry 
his  reforms  still  further.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  there- 
fore, when  the  people  began  to  vote  for  him  as  tribune  for 
a  second  term,  the  senators  made  such  a  disturbance  that 
the  election  was  postponed  till  the  next  day.  Then  they 
armed  all  their  slaves,  and  bade  them  be  ready  to  drive 
the  tribune  away  if  he  did  not  give  up  the  contest. 

Tiberius  Gracchus  knew  how  the  rich  men  hated  him ; 
so  when  he  appeared  on  the  next  day,  he  was  surrounded 
by  hundreds  of  his  friends,  who  stood  on  the  steps  of  the 


ISO 

Capitol,  ready  to  defend  him  at  any  risk.  The  voting 
began  again,  but  the  rich  men  and  their  followers  raised 
such  a  clamor  that  not  a  single  word  could  be  heard. 
Then,  seeing  that  Tiberius  stood  firm,  they  began  to  march 
against  him  with  threats. 

Tiberius,  fearing  for  his  life,  raised  his  hands  to  his 
head,  a  signal  which  it  was  agreed  he  should  use  to  warn 
his  friends  that  his  life  was  in  danger.  The  senators, 
however,  pretended  to  misunderstand  the  sign  which  Tibe- 
rius had  made,  and  exclaimed  that  he  was  asking  for  the 
crown,  and  therefore  deserved  to  be  put  to  death. 

Following  Scipio  Na-si'ca,  one  of  the  tribune's  own  rel- 
atives, they  all  rushed  forward  at  once,  and,  helped  by 
their  slaves,  slew  Tiberius  and  three  hundred  of  his  friends. 
The  body  of  the  tribune  was  then  dragged  through  the 
streets  like  that  of  the  vilest  criminal,  and  flung  into  the 
Tiber. 

The  poor  citizens,  terrified  at  this  general  massacre,  and 
deprived  of  their  champion,  no  longer  dared  to  make 
any  resistance;  and  the  rich  masters  of  Rome  treated 
them  worse  than  ever  before.  Scipio  Nasica,  however, 
was  afraid  that  some  one  would  kill  him  to  avenge  the 
dead  champion;  so  he  left  Rome  and  went  to  seek  a 
place  of  refuge  in  Asia. 

Scipio  ^Emilianus,  the  conqueror  of  Carthage,  openly 
said  that  in  his  opinion  Tiberius  Gracchus  deserved  death; 
and  he  was  therefore  hated  by  all  the  poor.  Not  long 
after  speaking  so,  he  was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  and,  as 
nobody  ever  knew  how  he  had  died,  it  was  generally  sup- 
posed that  he  was  murdered  by  one  of  the  tribune's 
friends. 


i5i 


LIL     CAIUS   GRACCHUS. 

THE  plebeians,  in  search  of  a  new  leader,  soon  chose 
Caius  Gracchus,  the  brother  of  the  murdered  Tibe- 
rius, and  twice  elected  him  to  the  office  of  tribune.  He, 
too,  was  clever  and  brave,  and  he,  too,  boldly  took  up  the 
cause  of  the  poor  and  oppressed  against  the  rich. 

Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Caius,  the  price  of  grain  was 
soon  reduced  so  that  the  hungry  people  could  secure  bread 
at  reasonable  rates.  But  every  day  the  senators  grew 
more  and  more  angry  at  the  new  champion  and  more 
anxious  to  get  him  out  of  their  way. 

As  the  life  of  a  tribune  was  sacred,  they  had  to  wait 
until  his  term  of  office  was  ended  before  they  dared  attack 
him  ;  for  no  one  was  bold  enough  to  imitate  Scipio  Nasica. 
But,  at  the  end  of  the  second  year,  Caius  was  deserted  by 
many  of  the  people,  and  was  not  again  elected.  Shortly 
after  this,  the  consuls  publicly  declared  that  any  one  who 
brought  them  his  head  should  receive  its  weight  in  gold. 

In  fear  for  his  life,  Caius  Gracchus  retreated  to  the 
Aventine  hill,  where  many  of  his  followers  had  gathered. 
There  they  were  attacked  and  soon  scattered  by  the  con- 
sul and  his  troops,  and  three  thousand  of  them  were  after- 
wards thrown  into  prison  and  slain.  Caius  saw  that  he 
would  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  cruel  foes  if  he  did  not 
flee ;  so  he  made  a  desperate  effort  to  escape,  with  two 
of  his  friends  and  a  faithful  slave. 

They  were  soon  overtaken,  however,  and  fought  like 
tigers ;  but  their  foes  were  so  numerous  that  the  two 
friends  fell.     Caius  then  rushed  away  into  a  grove,  on  the 


152 

other  side  of  the  Tiber.  Here  he  made  his  slave  put  him 
to  death,  so  that  he  should  not  fall  alive  into  the  enemy's 
hands. 

The  faithful  slave,  who  had  followed  his  master's  for- 
tunes to  the  last,  killed  himself  just  as  the  soldiers  burst 
into  the  grove.  The  fallen  leader's  head  was  cut  off  by 
the  first  man  who  found  the  body,  and  carried  away  on 
the  point  of  a  spear. 

This  man,  however,  did  not  immediately  exchange  the 
ghastly  trophy  for  the  promised  reward.  On  the  contrary, 
he  first  carried  it  home,  took  out  the  brains,  replaced  them 
with  molten  lead,  and  then  brought  it  to  the  consul,  who 
gave  him  seventeen  pounds  of  gold ! 

The  headless  body  was  flung  into  the  Tiber,  but  pulled 
out  again  by  compassionate  people  and  carried  to  Cornelia. 
This  devoted  mother  had  now  lost  both  her  sons,  and 
her  life  was  very  sad  indeed.  She  mourned  these  brave 
youths  as  long  as  she  lived ;  and  when  she  died,  her 
dearest  wish  was  fulfilled,  for  the  people  set  up  a  statue 
of  her,  and  on  the  pedestal  was  the  inscription :  "  Cornelia, 
the  mother  of  the  Gracchi." 

The  murder  of  Caius  decided  the  question  between  the 
rich  and  the  poor.  The  people  had  twice  lost  their  cham- 
pions, and  more  than  three  thousand  brave  men  had  died 
in  the  vain  hope  of  securing  their  rights.  The  govern- 
ment was  now  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  senators,  who, 
instead  of  making  a  generous  use  of  their  power,  thought 
only  of  themselves.  The  Romans  now  thought  more  of 
themselves  than  of  their  country,  and  the  history  of  this 
period  is  made  up  of  a  long  list  of  crimes  and  violent 
deeds  of  every  kind. 


153 


LIII.     JUGURTHA,    KING   OF   NUMIDIA. 

YOU  remember  Masinissa,  King  of  Numidia,  who  had 
such  fine  cavalry,  and  helped  the  Romans  fight  the 
Carthaginians,  do  you  not  ?  Well,  by  this  time,  Masinissa 
and  his  sons  were  dead,  and  his  kingdom  was  divided 
among  his  three  grandsons,  Ju-gur'tha,  Hi-emp'sal,  and 
Ad-her'bal. 

The  first  of  these  three  kings,  Jugurtha,  was  bold  and 
cruel,  and  was  noted  for  being  one  of  the  best  riders  in  the 
whole  country.  He  was  not  satisfied  to  have  only  a  share 
of  Numidia,  and  began  to  plan  how  he  could  get  hold  of 
his  cousins'  lands. 

He  began  by  murdering  Hiempsal,  and  then  proceeded 
to  besiege  Adherbal  in  his  capital.  In  his  distress,  the 
besieged  king  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Romans,  imploring 
them  to  come  and  help  him.  But  when  Jugurtha  heard 
that  his  cousin  had  asked  for  aid,  he,  too,  sent  a  messen- 
ger to  the  senate. 

Now  the  Roman  nobles  were  so  greedy  for  gold  that 
they  would  do  anything,  however  mean,  to  obtain  it. 
Jugurtha  knew  this,  so  he  bade  his  messenger  make  rich 
presents  to  all  he  met.  The  man  obeyed.  The  Roman 
senators  accepted  the  bribes,  and  then  cruelly  refused  to 
help  Adherbal,  who  soon  fell  into  Jugurtha's  hands. 

Instead  of  merely  depriving  his  cousin  of  his  kingdom, 
Jugurtha  put  him  in  prison,  and  tortured  him  in  the  most 
awful  and  inhuman  way  until  he  died.  The  Romans  had 
been  base  enough  to  accept  bribes ;  but  they  were  never- 
theless very  indignant  when  they  heard  how  cruel  Jugur- 


154 

tha  had  been,  and  called  him  to  Rome  to  defend  himself 
for  the  murder  of  his  cousin. 

Jugurtha  came,  pretended  to  be  very  sorry  for  what  he 
had  done,  put  on  mourning,  and  secretly  gave  so  many 
presents  that  none  of  the  senators  would  condemn  him. 
But,  even  while  he  was  thus  making  believe  to  repent,  he 
was  planning  a  new  crime. 

Before  he  left  Rome,  he  sent  an  assassin  to  kill  the  last 
relative  he  had  left.  Then,  as  he  passed  out  of  the  Eter- 
nal City,  —  as  the  Romans  boastfully  call  their  town, — 
he  is  said  to  have  scornfully  cried :  "  Venal  city,  thou 
wouldst  sell  thyself  to  any  one  rich  enough  to  buy  thee !  " 

When  Jugurtha  reached  home,  all  his  pretended  sorrow 
and  repentance  vanished.  He  felt  such  contempt  for  the 
Romans,  who  had  accepted  his  presents,  that  he  no  longer 
thought  it  necessary  to  keep  friends  with  them,  and  soon 
openly  declared  war  against  them. 

The  war  between  Jugurtha  and  the  Romans  was  fought 
in  Africa,  and  lasted  several  years.  Indeed,  the  Romans 
endured  several  defeats  before  a  young  general  called  Ma'- 
ri-us  finally  conquered  Jugurtha,  and  gained  possession  of 
the  last  Numidian  fortress. 

This  stronghold  was  situated  on  a  rock  so  high  and  so 
steep  that  it  seemed  impossible  to  climb  it.  But  a  young 
Roman  soldier  discovered  that  there  were  many  snail  holes 
and  cracks  in  the  rock,  in  which  he  could  stick  his  bare 
toes.  Taking  advantage  of  this,  he  led  a  party  up  into 
the  fortress,  and  became  master  of  it  while  the  garrison 
slept. 

Soon  after  this,  Jugurtha  himself  was  made  captive,  and 
taken  to  Rome,  where  he  was  forced  to  march  before  the 


i55 

victor's  chariot  in  the  triumph.  This  ceremony  over,  he 
was  thrust  naked  into  a  damp  prison,  where  he  died  at  the 
end  of  six  days,  without  any  one  having  offered  to  give  him 
a  bit  of  bread  or  a  drink  of  water.  He  had  pitied  no  one, 
so  no  one  pitied  him. 


>*K< 


LIV.     THE    BARBARIANS. 

MARIUS,  the  conqueror  of  Jugurtha,  had  been  hon- 
ored by  a  magnificent  triumph  on  his  return  to 
Rome,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  important  persons  of 
his  time.  He  was  the  son  of  poor  parents,  and  was  very 
homely  and  uncouth ;  but  he  was  brave  and  very  firm. 

By  dint  of  much  perseverance,  he  had  risen  to  the  office 
of  consul.  He  was  a  very  ambitious  man,  and  always 
wanted  to  be  first  in  everything.  But  there  was  another 
man  in  Rome  as  ambitious  as  he ;  this  was  his  lieutenant, 
Sul'la. 

Sulla  was  a  patrician,  and  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
rival  Marius ;  so  he  began  to  make  as  many  friends  as 
possible.  As  Sulla  also  wished  to  be  first  in  Rome,  he 
viewed  with  envy  the  great  triumph  that  was  awarded  to 
Marius,  and  was  delighted  when  a  new  war  called  him 
away  from  home. 

The  danger  which  now  threatened  Rome  was  an  inva- 
sion of  barbarians  from  the  north.  It  was  no  longer  the 
Gauls  who  were  coming  to  fight  them,  but  ruder  and  more 
terrible  races  known  as  the  Cim'bri  and  Teu'tons. 

These  people  had  no  settled  homes,  but  wandered  about 


i56 


from  place  to  place,  with  their  families  and  flocks.  Their 
wives  and  babies  followed  in  rude  chariots,  while  the  men, 
fierce  and  warlike,  marched  ahead,  stealing,  killing,  and 
burning  wherever  they  went. 

These  barbarians    had    once  lived  in  Asia  and  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Europe ;  but,  as  their  numbers  increased, 


Barbarians. 


and  they  no  longer  found  sufficient  pasture  for  their  cattle, 
they  left  their  former  home,  and  wandered  off  in  search  of 
another. 

Advancing  thus,  little  by  little,  they  came  at  last  to  the 
great  barrier  of  the  Alps,  which  separate  Italy  from  the 
rest  of  Europe.     Here  they  heard  about  the  fertile  soil  of 


157 

Italy,  the  pleasant  climate,  and  the  large  towns  filled  with 
treasures  of  all  kinds. 

These  tales  made  them  eager  to  enter  into  the  country 
and  take  possession  of  land  and  spoil.  The  Gauls,  who 
then  occupied  the  province  now  known  as  Lom'bar-dy, 
and  who  had  become  somewhat  civilized,  were  terrified 
when  they  heard  of  the  coming  of  these  barbarians,  and 
sent  to  Rome  for  help. 

An  army  was  immediately  sent  out  to  meet  the  Cimbri,  but 
it  was  badly  routed.  When  the  tidings  of  the  defeat  came 
to  Rome,  the  senate  ordered  Marius  —  who  had  been 
elected  consul  five  times  —  to  go  and  stop  the  invaders. 

By  quick  marches  and  good  generalship,  Marius  first 
led  his  troops  into  Gaul,  where  he  met  and  defeated  the 
Teutons.  Next,  he  returned  quickly  to  Italy,  where  he 
arrived  just  in  time  to  stop  the  Cimbii  as  they  came  pour- 
ing over  the  Alps. 

The  Cimbri  had  expected  to  meet  the  Teutons  here, 
and  were  amazed  to  find  themselves  face  to  face  with  the 
Roman  legions.  Still,  they  proudly  asked  land  enough 
for  their  own  tribe  and  for  their  allies,  the  Teutons,  who, 
they  said,  would  soon  join  them. 

Marius  calmly  listened  to  their  demands,  and  then  said : 
"  I  have  given  land  enough  to  your  allies,  for  their  bodies 
are  moldering  in  the  fields  of  Gaul,  and  their  bones  are 
used  as  fences  for  the  vineyards." 

Then,  seeing  that  Marius  would  grant  them  no  land, 
except  as  much  as  was  needed  for  their  graves,  the  fierce 
Cimbri  prepared  to  take  it  by  force,  and  began  a  terrible 
battle,  which  was  fought  between  them  and  the  Romans 
in  the  month  of  June,  101  B.C. 


1 58 

The  Cimbri,  who  were  not  used  to  a  southern  climate, 
soon  grew  faint  and  weak  from  the  heat,  and  could  not 
fight  with  their  usual  energy.  Then,  too,  they  had  bound 
themselves  together  with  ropes,  hoping  to  support  one 
another  better ;  but  this  only  made  their  defeat  easier,  and 
helped  the  Romans  to  secure  more  prisoners. 

Nearly  the  whole  tribe  of  the  Cimbri  perished  on  this 
awful  day ;  for  the  women,  after  defending  themselves 
fiercely  behind  their  rude  wagons,  strangled  their  children 
with  their  long  hair,  and  hung  themselves  to  the  chariot 
poles,  rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans. 
Even  the  dogs  which  followed  the  Cimbri  had  to  be  killed, 
for  they,  too,  had  been  taught  to  fight  and  never  to  sur- 
render. 

When  Marius  had  conquered  both  the  Teutons  and 
Cimbri,  and  thus  delivered  Rome  from  a  great  danger, 
he  was  rewarded  by  another  grand  triumph,  and  the 
people  elected  him  consul  for  the  sixth  time.  Such  was 
the  admiration  that  many  of  his  fellow-citizens  felt  for  him 
that  they  erected  statues  in  his  honor,  and  even  wished  to 
offer  up  sacrifices  to  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  god. 


>xk< 


LV.     THE   SOCIAL  WAR. 

THE  wars  abroad  were  ended,  but  now  Rome  was 
threatened  by  a  much  more  serious  danger,  —  wars  at 
home.  These  were  brought  about  by  the  selfishness  and 
ambition  of  a  few  persons,  who  cared  far  more  for  their 
own  advantage  than  for  the  good  of  their  country. 

As  you  know,  the  Romans  were  very  proud,  and  always 


159 

thought  themselves  a  little  better  than  any  of  the  other 
people  in  Italy.  They  had  special  rights,  and  they  alone 
were  allowed  to  vote  or  to  hold  office  in  the  Roman  repub- 
lic ;  and  when  the  senate  granted  the  title  of  Roman  citi- 
zen to  any  outsider,  it  was  considered  a  very  great  honor 
indeed. 

As  the  Italian  states  were  now  part  of  the  republic,  their 
inhabitants  were  anxious  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  Roman 
citizens.  Marius  was  in  favor  of  giving  these  rights  to 
some  of  the  Italian  people,  but  Sulla  was  against  it,  and 
said  that  none  but  the  Roman  patricians  ought  to  have  them. 

These  great  men  thus  became  the  heads  of  two  parties 
which  daily  grew  more  powerful  and  more  bitter.  But, 
while  the  people  fancied  that  Marius  and  Sulla  were  for  or 
against  them,  and  were  quarreling  for  their  benefit,  the 
real  truth  was  that  both  leaders  were  thinking  of  the 
best  way  to  secure  friends  for  themselves. 

Not  all  the  Remans  were  blind,  however,  and  one  named 
Me-tel'lus  openly  refused  to  obey  a  law  which  Marius  had 
persuaded  the  people  to  pass,  but  which  was  not  for  the 
good  of  the  state.  To  punish  Metellus  for  daring  to 
oppose  the  law,  Marius  sent  him  into  exile,  but  he  was 
soon  recalled,  and  every  one  honored  him  greatly  because 
he  had  had  the  courage  to  do  what  he  felt  was  right,  even 
though  he  brought  down  upon  himself  the  anger  of  so 
powerful  a  man  as  Marius. 

By  and  by  the  people  grew  tired  of  this  man's  tyranny, 
and  treated  him  so  badly  that  he  left  Rome  in  anger,  and 
went  to  visit  Mith-ri-da'tes,  a  king  in  Asia  Minor.  Here, 
too,  Marius  was  unwelcome,  because  his  manners  were 
rough,  and  he  was  as  insolent  as  he  was  selfish.     To  get 


i6o 


rid  of  this  unwelcome  visitor,  Mithridates  gave  him  many 
gifts,  and  encouraged  him  to  return  to  Italy. 

Back  in  Rome  once  more,  Marius  joined  his  old  party, 
and  tried  to  make  himself  its  leader.  Meanwhile,  the 
question  of  admitting  all  the  Italian  states  to  Roman  citi- 
zenship was  again  brought  up  and  hotly  discussed.  The 
Romans  finally  decided  to  keep  all  their  rights  to  them- 
selves, and  then  the  Italians  took  up  arms  to  gain  their 
liberty. 

The  war  which  followed  lasted  about  two  years,  and  is 
known  as  the  Social  War,  because  the  Italians  were  called 
socii,  or  allies.  The  soldiers  on  each  side  hated  those  on 
the  other  so  greatly  that  they  showed  no  mercy ;  and  we 
are  told  that  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  people 
perished  in  this  short  space  of  time.  Many  rich  and 
prosperous  cities  were  ruined  before  the  Italian  states 
were  granted  most  of  the  rights  they  claimed,  and  the 
war  came  to  an  end. 

LVI.     THE   FLIGHT    OF   MARIUS. 

WITH  the  battle-loving  Romans,  the  end  of  one  war 
was  generally  a  signal  for  the  beginning  of  another. 
So,  as  soon  as  the  Social  War  was  finished,  they  sent  out  an 
army  against  Mithridates,  the  most  powerful  king  in  the 
East  at  that  time. 

Marius  had  been  preparing  for  this  war,  and  hoped  to  be 
the  general;  but,  to  his  great  disappointment,  the  command 
was  given  to  his  rival,  Sulla.  The  army  had  no  sooner 
started  than  the  envious  Marius  began  to  do  all  he  could 


i6i 


to  have  Sulla  recalled.  His  efforts  were  successful,  for 
the  Romans  soon  sent  orders  for  Sulla  to  come  home,  and 
gave  the  command  of  the  army  to  Marius  instead. 

When  the  officers  came  to  tell  Sulla  that  he  must  give 
up  his  position,  he  was  so  angry  that  he  had  the  messen- 
gers put  to  death.  Then,  as  his  soldiers  were  devoted  to 
him,  they  all  asked  him  to  lead  them  back  to  Rome,  so 
that  they  might  punish  his  enemies  for  slandering  him 
behind  his  back. 

This  change  of  programme  suited  Sulla  very  well.  In- 
stead of  going  to  Asia,  he  soon  entered  Rome,  sword  in 
hand,  routed  Marius  and  his  party,  and,  after  forcing  them 
to  seek  safety  in  flight,  took  the  lead  in  all  public  affairs. 

Marius  was  declared  an  enemy  of  his  country,  and 
closely  pursued  by  some  of  Sulla's  friends.  Although 
seventy  years  of  age,  he  fled  alone  and  on  foot,  and  made 
his  way  down  to  the  seashore.  He  then  tried  to  escape 
on  a  vessel  which  he  found  there ;  but,  unfortunately,  the 
captain  was  a  mean  man,  who,  in  fear  of  punishment,  soon 
set  Marius  ashore  and  sailed  away.  The  aged  fugitive 
was  then  obliged  to  hide  in  the  marshes  ;  and  for  a  long 
time  he  stood  there  buried  in  a  quagmire  up  to  his  chin. 
Finally  he  was  captured,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
governor  of  Min-tur'nae. 

Marius,  the  man  who  had  enjoyed  two  triumphs,  and 
had  six  times  been  consul  of  Rome,  was  now  thrust  into  a 
dark  and  damp  prison.  A  slave  —  one  of  the  vanquished 
Cimbri  —  was  then  sent  to  his  cell  to  cut  off  his  head. 
But  when  the  man  entered,  the  prisoner  proudly  drew 
himself  up,  and,  with  flashing  eye,  asked  him  whether  he 
dared  lay  hands  upon  Marius. 

STO.  OF  ROM.  —  II 


162 


Terrified  by  the  gaunt  and  fierce  old  man,  the  slave  fled, 
leaving  the  prison  door  open.  The  governor,  who  was 
very  superstitious,  now  said  it  was  clear  that  the  gods  did 
not  wish  Marius  to  perish ;  so  he  not  only  set  the  prisoner 
free,  but  helped  him  find  a  vessel  which  would  take  him  to 
Carthage. 

There,  amid  the  ruins  of  that  once  mighty  city,  the 
aged  Marius  sat  mourning  his  fate,  until  ordered  away  by 
the  Roman  guard,  a  man  whom  he  had  once  befriended. 
Again  Marius  embarked,  to  go  in  search  of  another  place 
of  refuge ;  but,  hearing  that  Cin'na,  one  of  his  friends,  had 
taken  advantage  of  Sulla's  absence  from  Rome  to  rally 
his  party,  he  decided  to  return  at  once  to  Italy. 


>x*< 


LVII.     THE    PROSCRIPTION    LISTS. 

MARIUS  would  not  reenter  Rome  until  the  frightened 
senate  recalled  his  sentence  of  banishment ;  for  he 
always  appeared  very  anxious  to  obey  the  laws,  so  as  to 
make  the  people  believe  that  he  was  thinking  only  of 
them. 

The  Roman  citizens  were,  therefore,  called  together,  the 
question  was  put  to  the  vote,  and  Marius  found  a  large 
majority  in  favor  of  his  return.  He  entered  Rome,  as 
powerful  as  ever,  and  celebrated  his  return  by  ordering 
the  death  of  all  the  people  who  had  been  his  enemies. 

Marius  and  Cinna  named  themselves  consuls,  and  one 
of  their  first  acts  was  to  set  aside  all  the  laws  made  by 
Sulla.     Their  next  was  to  hunt  up  all  his  friends,  and  to 


i63 

carry  out  their  bloody  plans  for  revenge  by  killing  them 
all.  Fortunately  for  the  Romans,  however,  the  old  man 
died  one  month  after  his  return  to  Rome,  and  thus  his 
bloody  career  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  mean  while  the  news  that  Marius  had  returned 
to  Rome  was  sent  as  quickly  as  possible  to  Sulla,  who 
was  making  war  against  Mithridates  in  the  East.  Sulla 
waited  till  he  had  won  many  victories  over  this  king ;  then, 
making  peace,  he  came  home  as  fast  as  possible  to  punish 
the  men  who  had  murdered  his  friends. 

It  was  too  late  to  injure  Marius,  for  he  was  dead;  but 
Sulla  was  fully  as  bloodthirsty  as  his  former  rival,  and 
turned  his  wrath  against  Cinna  and  the  son  of  Marius, 
who  were  now  at  the  head  of  their  party.  Hearing  that 
Sulla  had  made  peace  with  Mithridates,  and  was  on  his 
way  home,  Cinna  sent  an  army  to  meet  and  stop  him. 

But,  instead  of  fighting  Sulla,  the  Romans  deserted,  and 
joined  him,  hoping  to  receive  a  share  of  the  gold  which 
he  had  brought  back  from  the  East.  Owing  to  this 
increase  in  his  forces,  and  to  the  help  of  Pom'pey,  who 
raised  an  army  for  him  in  Italy,  Sulla  won  several  vic- 
tories, and  finally  marched  into  Rome  at  the  head  of 
his  troops. 

Cinna  was  killed  by  his  own  soldiers,  and  when  Sulla 
entered  Rome  he  had  eight  thousand  prisoners  of  war 
who  had  belonged  to  the  party  of  Marius.  Instead  of 
showing  himself  generous,  he  secretly  ordered  the  massa- 
cre of  all  these  men  before  he  went  to  the  senate. 

The  cries  and  groans  of  the  dying  could  be  plainly 
heard  by  the  senators.  They  trembled  and  grew  pale, 
but  they  did  not  dare  oppose  Sulla,  and  only  shuddered 


i64 

when  he  said :  "  I  will  not  spare  a  single  man  who  has 
borne  arms  against  me." 

Then,  for  many  days,  long  lists  were  made,  containing 
the  names  of  all  the  citizens  whom  Sulla  wished  to  have 
slain.  These  lists  were  posted  in  public  places,  and  a 
proclamation  was  made,  offering  a  reward  for  the  killing 
of  each  man  whose  name  was  marked  there,  and  threaten- 
ing with  death  any  one  —  even  a  relative  —  who  should 
give  such  a  man  shelter. 

Through  the  civil  wars  waged  between  the  parties  of 
Marius  and  Sulla,  and  through  these  fatal  lists,  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Roman  citizens  lost  their 
lives. 

Sulla,  to  prevent  any  one  else  from  ruling  the  Romans, 
now  forced  them  to  name  him  dictator  for  life.  But,  after 
governing  for  a  short  time  with  capricious  tyranny,  he  sud- 
denly gave  up  his  power,  and  retired  to  a  country  house, 
where  he  spent  his  days  and  nights  in  revelry  of  all  kinds. 

Soon  after,  he  was  seized  by  a  most  horrible  and  loath- 
some disease,  which  could  not  be  cured.  He  died,  in  a  ter- 
rible fit  of  senseless  anger,  after  giving  orders  for  his  own 
funeral,  and  for  the  building  of  a  magnificent  tomb  on  the 
Field  of  Mars.  On  this  was  placed  the  following  epitaph, 
which  he  had  himself  composed : 

"  I  am  Sulla  the  Fortunate,  who,  in  the  course  of  my  life, 
have  surpassed  both  friends  and  enemies ;  the  former  by 
the  good,  the  latter  by  the  evil,  I  have  done  them." 

But,  although  Sulla  boastfully  called  himself  "the  For- 
tunate," he  was  never  really  happy,  because  he  thought 
more  of  himself  than  of  his  country  and  fellow-citizens. 


i65 


LVIII.     SERTORIUS   AND    HIS    DOE. 

WHEN  Sulla  died,  there  were  still  two  parties,  or  fac- 
tions, in  Rome,  which  could  not  agree  to  keep  the 
peace.  These  two  factions  were  headed  by  Cat'u-lus  and 
Lep'i-dus,  the  consuls  for  that  year.  Catulus  had  been  a 
friend  of  Sulla,  and  was  upheld  by  Pompey,  who  was  a  very 
clever  man.  Pompey  was  not  cruel  like  Marius  and  Sulla, 
but  he  could  not  be  trusted,  for  he  did  not  always  tell  the 
truth,  nor  was  he  careful  to  keep  his  promises. 

As  the  two  consuls  had  very  different  ideas,  and  were  at 
the  head  of  hostile  parties,  they  soon  quarreled  and  came 
to  open  war.  Catulus,  helped  by  so  able  a  general  as  Pom- 
pey, won  the  victory,  and  drove  Lepidus  to  Sar-din'i-a, 
where  he  died. 

Although  the  civil  war  at  home  was  now  stopped,  there 
was  no  peace  yet,  for  it  still  raged  abroad.  Ser-to'ri-us,  one 
of  the  friends  of  Marius,  had  taken  refuge  in  Spain  when 
Sulla  returned.  Here  he  won  the  respect  and  affection  of 
the  Spaniards,  who  even  intrusted  their  sons  to  his  care, 
asking  him  to  have  them  educated  in  the  Roman  way. 

The  Spaniards,  who  were  a  very  credulous  people, 
thought  that  Sertorius  was  a  favorite  of  the  gods,  because 
he  was  followed  wherever  he  went  by  a  snow-white  doe,  an 
animal  held  sacred  to  the  goddess  Di-an'a.  This  doe  wan- 
dered in  and  out  of  the  camp  at  will,  and  the  soldiers  fan- 
cied that  it  brought  messages  from  the  gods ;  so  they  were 
careful  to  do  it  no  harm. 

As  the  Spaniards  shared  this  belief,  they  were  always 
ready  to  do  whatever  Sertorius  bade  them ;   and  when  a 


\66 


Roman  army  was  sent  to  Spain  to  conquer  him,  they 
rallied  around  him  in  great  numbers. 

Now  you  must  know  that  Spain  is  a  very  mountainous 
country.  The  inhabitants,  of  course,  were  familiar  with 
all  the  roads  and  paths,  and  therefore  they  had  a  great 
advantage  over  the  Roman  legions,  who  were  accustomed 
to  fight  on  plains,  where  they  could  draw  themselves  up  in 
battle  array. 

Instead  of  meeting  the  Romans  in  a  pitched  battle,  Ser- 
torius  had  his  Spaniards  worry  them  in  skirmishes.  By 
his  orders,  they  took  up  their  station  on  the  mountains, 
and  behind  trees,  from  whence  they  could  hurl  rocks  and 
arrows  down  upon  their  foe. 

When  the  Roman  general  saw  that  his  army  was  rapidly 
growing  less,  and  that  he  would  have  no  chance  to  show 
his  skill  in  a  great  battle,  he  made  a  proclamation,  offering 
a  large  sum  of  money  to  any  one  who  would  kill  Sertorius, 
and  bring  his  head  into  the  Roman  camp. 

Sertorius  was  indignant  when  he  heard  of  this  proclama- 
tion, and  gladly  accepted  the  offer  of  Mithridates  to  join 
forces  with  him  against  the  Romans.  But  before  this  king 
could  help  him,  Sertorius  grew  suspicious  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  fancied  that  they  were  about  to  turn  traitors  and  sell 
him  to  the  Romans. 

Without  waiting  to  find  out  whether  these  suspicions 
were  true,  he  ordered  the  massacre  of  all  the  boys  intrusted 
to  his  care.  Of  course  the  Spaniards  were  furious,  and  they 
all  declared  that  it  served  Sertorius  right  when  Per-per'na, 
one  of  his  own  men,  fell  upon  him  while  he  was  sitting  at 
table,  and  killed  him. 

In  the  mean  while,   however,   the   Roman   senate  had 


16/ 

sent  out  another  army,  under  Pompey,  and  this  general 
had  fought  several  regular  battles  with  Sertorius.  Per- 
perna  now  tried  to  take  the  lead  of  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Romans  who  hated  Pompey;  but,  as  he  was  a  coward,  he 
lost  the  next  battle  and  was  made  prisoner.  Hoping  to 
save  his  life,  Perperna  then  offered  to  hand  over  all  the 
papers  belonging  to  Sertorius,  so  that  Pompey  could  find 
out  the  names  of  the  Romans  who  were  against  him. 

Fortunately,  Pompey  was  too  honorable  to  read  letters 
which  were  not  addressed  to  him.  Although  he  took  the 
papers,  it  was  only  to  fling  them  straight  into  the  fire 
without  a  single  glance  at  their  contents.  Then  he 
ordered  that  Perperna,  the  traitor,  should  be  put  to  death ; 
and,  having  ended  the  war  in  Spain,  he  returned  to  Rome. 


>XK< 


LIX.  THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  SLAVES. 

POMPEY'S  services  were  sorely  needed  at  home  at  this 
time,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  the  war  in  Spain  was 
near  its  end.  The  cause  of  the  trouble  in  Italy  was  a 
general  revolt  of  the  slaves. 

It  seems  that  at  Capua,  in  southern  Italy,  there  was 
a  famous  school  of  gladiators.  Now,  as  you  doubtless 
remember,  the  gladiators  were  prisoners  of  war  whom  the 
Romans  trained  to  fight  in  the  circuses  for  their  amusement. 

Spar'ta-cus,  a  Thra'cian,  was  the  leader  of  these  men ; 
and,  when  they  broke  away  from  their  captivity,  he  led 
them  to  Mount  Ve-su'vi-us,  where  they  were  soon  joined 
by  many  other  gladiators    and    runaway  slaves.     In  this 


1 68 


position  they  could  easily  defend  themselves,  and  from 
Mount  Vesuvius  they  made  many  a  raid  down  into  the 
surrounding  country,  in  search  of  provisions  and  spoil. 

Little  by  little,  all  the  Thracian,  Gallic,  and  Teu-ton'ic 
slaves  joined  them  here,  and  before  long  Spartacus  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  more  than  a  hundred 


Roman  Gladiators. 


thousand  men.  Many  legions  were  sent  out  to  conquer 
them  ;  but  the  slaves  were  so  eager  to  keep  their  liberty 
that  they  fought  very  well,  and  defeated  the  Romans 
again  and  again. 

Spartacus,  having  tried  his  men,  now  prepared  to  lead 
them  across  Italy  to  the  Alps,  where  he  proposed  that 
they  should  scatter  and  all  rejoin  their  native  tribes.  But 
this  plan  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  slaves ;  for 


169 

they  were  anxious  to  avenge  their  injuries,  and  to  secure 
much  booty  before  they  returned  home. 

So,  although  Spartacus  led  them  nearly  to  the  foot  of 
the  Alps,  they  induced  him  to  turn  southward  once  more, 
and  said  that  they  were  going  to  besiege  Rome.  In  their 
fear  of  the  approaching  rebels,  the  Romans  bade  Cras'sus, 
one  of  Sulla's  officers,  take  a  large  army,  and  check  the 
advance  of  the  slaves.  At  the  same  time,  they  sent 
Pompey  an  urgent  summons  to  hasten  his  return  from 
Spain. 

The  armies  of  Crassus  and  Spartacus  met  face  to  face, 
after  many  of  the  slaves  had  deserted  their  leader.  The 
Thracian  must  have  felt  that  he  would  be  defeated;  for  he 
is  said  to  have  killed  his  war  horse  just  before  the  battle 
began.  When  one  of  his  companions  asked  him  why  he 
did  so,  he  replied : 

"  If  I  win  the  fight,  I  shall  have  a  great  many  better 
horses;  if  I  lose  it,  I  shall  need  none." 

Although  wounded  in  one  leg  at  the  beginning  of  the 
battle,  Spartacus  fought  bravely  on  his  knees,  until  he 
fell  lifeless  upon  the  heap  of  soldiers  whom  he  had  slain. 
Forty  thousand  of  his  men  perished  with  him,  and  the 
rest  fled.  Before  these  could  reach  a  place  of  safety, 
they  were  overtaken  by  Pompey,  who  cut  them  all  to 
pieces. 

Pompey  had  come  up  just  in  time  to  win  the  last  battle, 
and  reap  all  the  honors  of  the  war.  He  was  very  proud 
of  this  victory,  and  wrote  a  boastful  letter  to  the  senate, 
in  which  he  said :  "  Crassus  has  overcome  the  gladiators 
in  a  pitched  battle,  but  I  have  plucked  up  the  war  by 
the  roots!" 


170 

Then,  to  make  an  example  which  would  prevent  the 
slaves  from  ever  rising  up  against  their  masters  again,  the 
Romans  crucified  six  thousand  of  the  rebels  along  the 
road  from  Capua  to  Rome. 


>}*:< 


LX.     POMPEY'S   CONQUESTS. 

AS  Pompey  had  claimed  all  the  credit  of  the  victory 
over  the  revolted  slaves,  you  can  readily  understand 
that  Crassus  did  not  love  him  very  much.  Both  of  these 
men  were  ambitious,  and  they  both  strove  to  win  the  favor 
of  the  Romans.  They  made  use  of  different  means,  how- 
ever; for  Pompey  tried  to  buy  their  affections  by  winning 
many  victories,  while  Crassus  strove  to  do  the  same  by 
spending  his  money  very  freely. 

Crassus  was  at  this  time  a  very  rich  man.  He  gave 
magnificent  banquets,  kept  open  house,  and  is  said  to  have 
entertained  the  Romans  at  ten  thousand  public  tables, 
which  were  all  richly  spread.  He  also  made  generous 
gifts  of  grain  to  all  the  poor,  and  supplied  them  with  food 
for  several  months  at  a  time. 

In  spite  of  this  liberality,  the  people  seemed  to  prefer 
Pompey,  who,  soon  after  defeating  the  slaves,  made  war 
against  the  pirates  that  infested  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
These  pirates  had  grown  very  numerous,  and  were  so  bold 
that  they  attacked  even  the  largest  ships.  They  ruthlessly 
butchered  all  their  common  prisoners,  but  they  made 
believe  to  treat  the  Roman  citizens  with  the  greatest 
respect. 


171 

If  one  of  their  captives  said  that  he  was  a  Roman,  they 
immediately  began  to  make  apologies  for  having  taken 
him.  Then  they  stretched  a  plank  from  the  side  of  the 
ship  to  the  water,  and  politely  forced  the  Roman  to  step 
out  of  the  vessel  and  into  the  sea. 

The  pirates  also  robbed  all  the  provision  ships  on  their 
way  from  Sicily  to  Rome ;  and,  as  a  famine  threatened,  the 
Romans  sent  Pompey  to  put  an  end  to  these  robberies. 
Pompey  obeyed  these  orders  so  well  that  four  months 
later  all  the  pirate  ships  were  either  captured  or  sunk,  and 
their  crews  made  prisoners  or  slain. 

Pompey  knew  that  the  pirates  were  enterprising  men, 
so  he  advised  the  senate  to  send  them  out  to  form  new 
colonies.  This  good  advice  was  followed,  and  many  of 
these  men  became  in  time  good  and  respectable  citizens 
in  their  new  homes. 

As  Pompey  had  been  so  successful  in  all  his  campaigns, 
the  Romans  asked  him  to  take  command  of  their  armies 
when  a  third  war  broke  out  with  their  old  enemy  Mithri- 
dates,  King  of  Pon'tus  in  Asia  Minor. 

With  his  usual  good  fortune,  Pompey  reached  the  scene 
of  conflict  just  in  time  to  win  the  final  battles,  and  to  reap 
all  the  honors  of  the  war.  We  are  told  that  he  won 
a  glorious  victory  by  taking  advantage  of  the  moonlight, 
and  placing  his  soldiers  in  such  a  way  that  their  shadows 
stretched  far  over  the  sand  in  front  of  them.  The  soldiers 
of  Mithridates,  roused  from  sound  slumbers,  fancied  that 
giants  were  coming  to  attack  them,  and  fled  in  terror. 

As  for  Mithridates,  he  preferred  death  to  captivity,  and 
killed  himself  so  that  he  would  not  be  obliged  to  appear 
in  his  conqueror's  triumph. 


172 

Pompey  next  subdued  Syria,  Phce-ni'cia,  and  Ju-de'a, 
and  entered  Je-ru'sa-lem.  Here  some  of  the  Jews  held  out 
in  their  temple,  which  was  taken  only  after  a  siege  of  three 
months.  In  spite  of  their  entreaties,  Pompey  went  into 
the  Holy  of  Holies, — a  place  where  even  the  high  priest 
ventured  only  once  a  year;  and  we  are  told  that  he  was 
punished  for  this  sacrilege  by  a  rapid  decline  of  his  power. 

All  the  western  part  of  Asia  was  now  under  Roman 
rule ;  and,  when  Pompey  came  back  to  Rome,  he  brought 
with  him  more  than  three  million  dollars'  worth  of  spoil. 

Wealth  of  all  kinds  had  been  pouring  into  Rome  for 
so  many  years  that  it  now  seemed  as  if  these  riches 
would  soon  cause  the  ruin  of  the  people.  The  rich  citi- 
zens formed  a  large  class  of  idlers  and  pleasure  seekers, 
and  they  soon  became  so  wicked  that  they  were  always 
doing  something  wrong. 


>x*< 


LXI.     THE   CONSPIRACY   OF   CATILINE. 

WHILE  Pompey  was  away  in  the  East,  a  few  young 
Romans,  who  had  nothing  else  to  do,  imagined 
that  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  to  murder  the  consuls,  abol- 
ish all  the  laws,  plunder  the  treasury,  and  set  fire  to  the 
city.  They  therefore  formed  a  conspiracy,  which  was 
headed  by  Cat/i-line,  a  very  wicked  man. 

The  reason  why  Catiline  encouraged  the  young  idlers  to 
such  crimes  was  that  he  had  spent  all  his  own  money, 
had  run  deeply  into  debt,  and  wished  to  find  some  way 
to  procure  another  fortune  to  squander  on  his  pleasures. 


173 

Fortunately  for  Rome,  this  conspiracy  was  discovered 
the  consul  Cic'e-ro,  the  most  eloquent  of  all  the  Roman 
orators.  He  revealed  the  plot  to  the  senate,  but  Catiline 
had  the  boldness  to  deny  all  knowledge  of  it. 

Cicero  then  went  on  to  denounce  the  traitor  in  one  of 
those  eloquent  speeches  which  are  read  by  all  students 
of  the  Latin  language.  Catiline,  however,  indignantly  left 
the  senate  hall,  and,  rushing  out  of  the  city,  went  to  join 
the  army  of  rebels  that  was  awaiting  him.  But  the  con- 
spirators who  staid  in  the  city  were  arrested  and  put  to 
death  by  order  of  Cicero  and  the  senate. 

In  the  mean  while,  an  army  had  been  sent  out  against 
Catiline,  who  was  defeated  and  killed,  with  the  greater 
part  of  his  soldiers.  The  Romans  were  so  grateful  to 
Cicero  for  saving  them  from  the  threatened  destruction 
that  they  did  him  much  honor,  and  called  him  the  "  Father 
of  his  Country." 

Shortly  after  this  event,  and  the  celebration  of  Pompey's 
new  triumph,  the  old  rivalry  between  him  and  Crassus 
was  renewed.  They  were  no  longer  the  only  important 
men  in  Rome,  however ;  for  Jul'ius  Cae'sar  was  gradually 
coming  to  have  more  and  more  power. 

This  Julius  Caesar  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  in  Rome. 
He  was  clever  and  cool,  and  first  used  his  influence  to 
secure  the  recall  of  the  Romans  whom  Sulla  had  banished. 
As  Caesar  believed  in  gentle  measures,  he  had  tried  to  per- 
suade the  senate  to  spare  the  young  men  who  had  plotted 
with  Catiline.  But  he  failed,  owing  to  Cicero's  eloquence, 
and  thus  first  found  himself  opposed  to  this  able  man. 

Caesar  was  fully  as  ambitious  as  any  of  the  Romans, 
and  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  I  would  rather  be  the 


o 


(174) 


175 

first  in  a  village  than  the  second  in  Rome ! "  In  the 
beginning  of  his  career,  however,  he  clearly  understood 
that  he  must  try  and  make  friends,  so  he  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  both  Pompey  and  Crassus. 

Little  by  little  Caesar  persuaded  these  two  rivals  that  it 
was  very  foolish  in  them  to  fight,  and  finally  induced  them 
to  be  friends.  When  these  three  men  had  thus  united  their 
forces,  they  felt  that  they  held  the  fortunes  of  Rome  in 
their  hands,  and  could  do  as  they  pleased. 

They  therefore  formed  a  council  of  three  men,  or  the 
Tri-um'vi-rate,  as  it  is  called.  Rome,  they  said,  was  still 
to  be  governed  by  the  same  officers  as  before ;  but  they 
had  so  much  influence  in  Rome  that  the  people  and  senate 
did  almost  everything  that  the  Triumvirate  wished. 

To  seal  this  alliance,  Caesar  gave  his  daughter  Jul'ia  in 
marriage  to  Pompey.  Then,  when  all  was  arranged  ac- 
cording to  his  wishes,  Caesar  asked  for  and  obtained  the 
government  of  Gaul  for  five  years.  To  get  rid  of  Cicero, 
Clo'di-us,  a  friend  of  the  Triumvirate,  revived  an  old  law, 
whereby  any  person  who  had  put  a  Roman  citizen  to  death 
without  trial  was  made  an  outlaw.  Clodius  argued  that 
Cicero  had  not  only  caused  the  death  of  the  young  Romans 
in  Catiline's  conspiracy,  but  had  even  been  present  at  their 
execution. 

Cicero  could  not  avoid  the  law,  so  he  fled,  and  staid 
away  from  Rome  for  the  next  sixteen  months.  This  was 
a  great  trial  to  him,  and  he  complained  so  much  that 
he  was  finally  recalled.  The  people,  who  loved  him  for 
his  eloquence,  then  received  him  with  many  demonstra- 
tions of  joy. 


176 


LXII.     CESAR'S   CONQUESTS. 

IN  the  mean  while,  Caesar  had  gone  to  govern  Gaul,  and 
was  forcing  all  the  different  tribes  to  recognize  the 
authority  of  Rome.  He  fought  very  bravely,  and  wrote  an 
account  of  these  Gallic  wars,  which  is  so  simple  and 
interesting  that  it  is  given  to  boys  and  girls  to  read  as  soon 
as  they  have  studied  a  little  Latin. 

Caesar  not  only  subdued  all  the  country  of  Gaul,  which 
we  now  know  as  France,  but  also  conquered  the  barbarians 
living  in  Switzerland  and  in  Bel'gi-um. 

Although  he  was  one  of  the  greatest  generals  who  ever 
lived,  he  soon  saw  that  he  could  not  complete  these  con- 
quests before  his  time  as  governor  would  expire.  He 
therefore  arranged  with  his  friends  Crassus  and  Pompey, 
that  he  should  remain  master  of  Gaul  for  another  term, 
while  they  had  charge  of  Spain  and  Syria. 

The  senate,  which  was  a  mere  tool  in  the  hands  of  these 
three  men,  confirmed  this  division,  and  Caesar  remained  in 
Gaul  to  finish  the  work  he  had  begun.  But  Pompey  sent 
out  an  officer  to  take  his  place  in  Spain,  for  he  wished  to 
remain  in  Rome  to  keep  his  hold  on  the  people's  affections. 

As  Crassus  liked  gold  more  than  anything  else,  he  joy- 
fully hastened  off  to  Syria,  where  he  stole  money  wher- 
ever he  could,  and  even  went  to  Jerusalem  to  rob  the 
Temple.  Shortly  after  this,  he  began  an  unjust  war 
against  the  Par'thi-ans.  They  defeated  him,  killed  his  son 
before  his  eyes,  and  then  slew  him  too. 

We  are  told  that  a  Parthian  soldier  cut  off  the  Roman 


177 


general's  head  and  carried  it  to  his  king.  The  latter,  who 
knew  how  anxious  Crassus  had  always  been  for  gold, 
stuffed  some  into  his  dead  mouth,  saying : 

"  There,  sate  thyself  now  with  that  metal  of  which  in 
life  thou  wert  so  greedy." 

You  see  that  even  a  barbarian  has  no  respect  whatever 
for  a  man  who  is  so  base  as  to  love  gold  more  than  honor. 


Caesar's  Soldiers. 


While  Crassus  was  thus  disgracing  himself  in  Asia, 
Caesar  was  daily  winning  new  laurels  in  Gaul.  He  had 
also  invaded  Britain,  whose  shores  could  be  seen  from 
Gaul  on  very  clear  days. 

Although  this  island  was  inhabited  by  a  rude  and  war- 


STO.  OF  ROM.  —  12 


i78 

like  people,  it  had  already  been  visited  by  the  Phce-ni'tians, 
who  went  there  to  get  tin  from  the  mines  in  Corn'wall. 

Caesar  crossed  the  Channel,  in  small  ships,  at  its  narrow- 
est part,  between  the  cities  of  Cal'ais  and  Deal.  When  the 
Britons  saw  the  Romans  approaching  in  battle  array,  they 
rushed  down  to  the  shore,  clad  in  the  skins  of  the  beasts 
they  had  slain.  Their  own  skins  were  painted  blue,  and 
they  made  threatening  motions  with  their  weapons  as  they 
uttered  their  fierce  war  cry. 

But  in  spite  of  a  brave  resistance,  Caesar  managed  to 
land,  and  won  a  few  victories ;  however,  the  season  was 
already  so  far  advanced  that  he  soon  returned  to  Gaul. 
The  next  year  he  again  visited  Britain,  and  defeated  Cas- 
si-ve-lau'nus,  a  noted  Briton  chief. 

This  victory  ended  the  war.  The  Britons  pretended  to 
submit  to  the  Roman  general,  and  agreed  to  pay  a  yearly 
tribute.  So  Caesar  departed  to  finish  the  conquest  of 
Gaul ;  but  he  carried  off  with  him  a  number  of  hostages, 
to  make  sure  the  people  would  keep  the  promises  they 
had  made. 

As  the  news  of  one  victory  after  another  came  to  Rome, 
Caesar's  influence  with  the  people  grew  greater  every  day. 
Pompey  heard  all  about  this,  and  he  soon  became  very 
jealous  of  his  friend's  fame.  As  his  wife,  Julia,  had  died, 
he  no  longer  felt  bound  to  Caesar  by  any  tie,  so  he  began 
to  do  all  he  could  to  harm  his  absent  colleague. 

As  to  the  soldiers,  they  were  all  devoted  to  their  gen- 
eral, because  he  spoke  kindly  to  them,  knew  them  by  name, 
and  always  encouraged  them  by  word  and  example,  in 
camp  and  on  the  march. 


179 


LXIII.     THE   CROSSING   OF   THE   RUBICON. 

THE  news  of  Pompey's  hostility  was  soon  conveyed  to 
Caesar,  who  therefore  tried  harder  than  ever  to  keep 
in  the  good  graces  of  the  Romans,  and  asked  to  be  named 
consul. 

Caesar  had  now  been  governor  of  Gaul  almost  nine 
years.  In  that  short  space  of  time  he  had  managed  to 
subdue  eight  hundred  towns  and  three  hundred  tribes  ; 
and  he  had  fought  against  more  than  three  million  soldiers. 
His  services  had  been  so  great  that  Pompey  did  not  dare 
oppose  his  wishes  openly,  lest  the  people  should  be  angry. 

Pompey,  however,  was  very  anxious  that  his  rival  should 
come  to  Rome  only  as  a  private  citizen.  He  therefore 
bribed  a  man  to  oppose  Caesar's  election  as  consul,  on  the 
plea  that  it  was  against  the  law  to  elect  any  man  who  was 
absent  from  the  city. 

Then,  as  Caesar  staid  in  Gaul,  Pompey  advised  the 
senate  to  recall  two  of  his  legions ;  but  even  when  parted 
from  him,  these  men  never  forgot  the  general  they  loved, 
and  remained  true  to  him. 

As  all  the  attempts  to  hinder  Caesar  and  lessen  his  glory 
had  been  vain,  Pompey  now  fancied  that  it  would  be  a 
good  plan  to  make  him  come  back  to  Rome,  where  he 
would  not  have  an  army  at  his  beck  and  call.  So  the 
senate  sent  out  the  order  that  Pompey  wished  ;  but,  instead 
of  starting  out  for  Italy  alone,  Caesar  came  over  the  Alps 
at  the  head  of  his  army.  The  great  general  was  deter- 
mined to  get  the  better  of  his  rival,  arms  in  hand,  if  he 
could  not  secure  what  he  wished  more  peaceably. 


i8o 


The  news  of  Caesar's  crossing  the  Alps  at  the  head  of 
his  army  filled  the  senators  with  dismay.  They  feared 
the  anger  of  a  man  who  had  won  so  many  victories. 
Remembering  that  Pompey  had  often  saved  the  state  from 
threatening  dangers,  they  implored  him  to  take  an  army 
and  go  northward  to  check  Caesar's  advance. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  Caesar  did  not  like  bloodshed ; 
and  he  was  unwilling  to  fight  with  other  Romans  if  he 
could  secure  what  he  wished  without  doing  so.  He  there- 
fore paused  several  times,  and  made  several  attempts  to 
make  peace  with  Pompey.  But,  when  all  his  offers  were 
refused,  he  ceased  to  hesitate,  and  boldly  crossed  the 
Ru'bi-con,  crying,  "  The  die  is  cast !  " 

The  Rubicon  was  a  small  river  which  flowed  between 
the  province  of  Gaul  and  the  territory  of  the  Roman  re- 
public. For  this  reason,  it  was  against  the  law  for  the 
governor  of  Gaul  to  cross  it  without  laying  down  his  arms. 
As  Caesar  did  not  obey  this  law,  he  plainly  showed  that 
he  no  longer  intended  to  respect  the  senate's  wishes,  and 
was  ready  to  make  civil  war. 

Caesar's  crossing  of  the  Rubicon  was  a  very  noted"  event. 
Ever  since  then,  whenever  a  bold  decision  has  been  made, 
or  a  step  taken  which  cannot  be  recalled,  people  have  ex- 
claimed :  "  The  die  is  cast !  "  or  "  He  has  crossed  the 
Rubicon  !  "  and,  when  you  hear  these  expressions  ^sed, 
you  must  always  remember  Caesar  and  his  bold  resolve. 

When  Pompey  heard  that  Caesar  had  invaded  Roman 
territory,  and  was  coming  toward  Rome,  his  heart  was 
filled  with  terror.  Instead  of  remaining  at  his  post,  he 
fled  to  the  sea,  and  embarked  at  Brundisium,  the  modern 
Brin'di-si.     His  aim  was  to  sail  over  to  Greece,  where  he 


i8i 


intended  to  collect  an  army  large  enough  to  meet  his  rival 
and  former  friend. 

Caesar  marched  into  Rome  without  meeting  with  any 
opposition.  Arrived  there,  he  broke  open  the  treasury  of 
the  republic,  and  took  all  the  money  he  needed  to  pay  his 
troops.  Then  he  sent  out  troops  to  meet  Pompey,  while 
he  went  straight  to  Spain,  where  he  added  to  his  fame  by 
conquering  the  whole  country  in  a  very  short  time. 

The  conquest  of  Spain  completed,  the  untiring  Caesar 
next  set  out  for  Greece,  where  he  planned  to  meet  Pompey 
himself.  In  the  mean  while,  however,  Pompey  had  gath- 
ered together  many  troops,  and  had  been  joined  by  many 
prominent  Romans,  among  whom  were  Cicero,  the  great 
orator,  and  Brutus,  a  severe  and  silent  but  very  patriotic 
man. 


>x*c< 


LXIV.     THE  BATTLE  OF  PHARSALIA. 

WHEN  Caesar  reached  the  port  of  Brundisium  he 
found  that  there  were  not  vessels  enough  to  carry 
all  his  army  across  the  sea.  He  therefore  set  out  with  one 
part,  leaving  the  other  at  Brundusium,  under  the  command 
of  his  friend  Mark  An'to-ny,  who  had  orders  to  follow 
him  as  quickly  as  possible. 

Instead  of  obeying  promptly,  Mark  Antony  waited  so 
long  that  Caesar  secretly  embarked  on  a  fisherman's  vessel 
to  return  to  Italy  and  find  out  the  cause  of  the  delay. 
This  boat  was  a  small  open  craft,  and  when  a  tempest 
arose  the  fishermen  wanted  to  turn  back. 


182 


Caesar  then  tried  to  persuade  them  to  sail  on,  and 
proudly  said :  "  Go  on  boldly,  and  fear  nothing,  for  you 
bear  Caesar  and  his  fortunes."  The  men  would  willingly 
have  obeyed  the  great  man,  but  the  tempest  soon  broke 
out  with  such  fury  that  they  were  forced  to.  return  to  the 
port  whence  they  had  sailed. 

Shortly  after  this,  Mark  Antony  made  up  his  mind  to 

cross  the  sea,  and 
joined  Caesar,  who 
was  then  besieging 
Pompey  in  the  town 
of  Dyr-ra'chi-um,  in 
Il-lyr'i-a.  To  drive  the 
enemy  away  as  soon 
as  possible,  Pompey 
had  destroyed  all  the 
provisions  in  the 
neighborhood.  Cae- 
sar's men  suffered 
from  hunger,  but 
they  were  too  loyal 
to  desert  him.  To 
convince  Pompey 
that  the  means  he 
had  used  were  of  no 
avail,  they  flung  their 
few  remaining  loaves  into  the  enemy's  camp,  shouting 
that  they  would  live  on  grass  rather  than  give  up  their 
purpose. 

Caesar,  however,  saw  that  his  men  were  growing  ill  for 
want  of  proper  food,  so  he  led  them  away  from  Dyrra- 


Bust  of  Caesar. 


183 

chium  into  Thes'sa-ly,  where  they  found  plenty  to  eat,  and 
where  Pompey  pursued  them.  Here,  on  the  plain  of  Phar- 
sa'li-a,  the  two  greatest  Roman  generals  at  last  met  in 
a  pitched  battle ;  and  Pompey  was  so  sure  of  winning  the 
victory  that  he  bade  the  soldiers  make  ready  a  great 
feast,  which  they  would  enjoy  as  soon  as  the  fight  was 
over. 

Pompey's  soldiers  were  mostly  young  nobles,  proud  of 
their  fine  armor  and  good  looks,  while  Caesar's  were  hard- 
ened veterans,  who  had  followed  him  all  through  his  long 
career  of  almost  constant  warfare.  Caesar,  aware  of  the 
vanity  of  the  Roman  youths,  bade  his  men  aim  their  blows 
at  the  enemies'  faces,  and  to  seek  to  disfigure  rather  than 
to  disable  the  foe. 

The  battle  began  and  raged  with  great  fury.  Faith- 
ful to  their  general's  orders,  Caesar's  troops  aimed  their 
weapons  at  the  faces  of  their  foes,  who  fled  rather  than 
be  disfigured  for  life.  Pompey  soon  saw  that  the  battle  was 
lost,  and  fled  in  disguise,  while  Caesar's  men  greatly  en- 
joyed the  rich  banquet  which  their  foes  had  prepared. 

Unlike  the  other  Romans  of  his  time,  Caesar  was  always 
generous  to  the  vanquished.  He  therefore  soon  set  free 
all  the  prisoners  he  had  made  at  Pharsalia.  Then,  instead 
of  prying  into  Pompey's  papers,  as  a  mean  man  would 
have  done,  he  burned  them  all  without  even  glancing  at 
them.  This  mercy  and  honesty  pleased  Brutus  so  greatly 
that  he  became  Caesar's  firm  friend. 

Pompey,  in  the  mean  while,  was  fleeing  to  the  sea.  He 
had  been  surnamed  the  Great  on  account  of  his  many 
victories ;  but  the  defeat  at  Pharsalia  was  so  crushing  that 
he  was  afraid  to  stay  in  Greece.     He  therefore  embarked 


I  $4 

with  his  new  wife,  Cornelia,  and  with  his  son  Sextus,  upon 
a  vessel  bound  for  E'gypt. 

As  he  intended  to  ask  the  aid  and  protection  of  Ptol'- 
e-my  XII. ,  the  E-gyp'tian  king,  he  composed  an  eloquent 
speech  while  on  the  way  to  Africa.  The  vessel  finally 
came  to  anchor  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  and 
Pompey  embarked  alone  on  the  little  boat  in  which  he 
was  to  land. 

Cornelia  staid  on  the  deck  of  the  large  vessel,  anxiously 
watching  her  husband's  departure.  Imagine  her  horror, 
therefore,  when  she  saw  him  murdered,  as  soon  as  he  had 
set  one  foot  ashore.  The  crime  was  committed  by  the 
messengers  of  the  cowardly  Egyptian  king,  who  hoped  to 
win  Caesar's  favor  by  killing  his  rival. 

Pompey's  head  was  cut  off,  to  be  offered  as  a  present 
to  Caesar,  who  was  expected  in  Egypt  also.  The  body 
would  have  remained  on  the  shore,  unburied,  but  for  the 
care  of  a  freedman.  This  faithful  attendant  collected 
driftwood,  and  sorrowfully  built  a  funeral  pyre,  upon 
which  his  beloved  master's  remains  were  burned. 


3*KC 


LXV.     THE   DEATH    OF   CESAR. 

AS  soon  as  Caesar  landed  in  Egypt,  he  was  offered 
Pompey's  head.  Instead  of  rejoicing  at  the  sight 
of  this  ghastly  token,  he  burst  into  tears.  Then,  taking 
advantage  of  his  power,  he  interfered  in  the  affairs  of 
Egypt,  and  gave  the  throne  to  Cle-o-pa'tra,  the  king's 
sister,  who  was  the  most  beautiful  woman  of  her  time. 


185 

This  did  not  please  some  of  the  Egyptians,  who  still 
wished  to  be  ruled  by  Ptolemy.  The  result  was  a  war 
between  Ptolemy  and  the  Egyptians  on  one  side,  and 
Caesar  and  Cleopatra  on  the  other. 

In  the  course  of  this  conflict  the  whole  world  suffered  a 
great  loss;  for  the  magnificent  library  at  Al-ex-an'dri-a, 
containing  four  hundred  thousand  manuscript  volumes, 
was  accidentally  set  on  fire.  These  precious  books  were 
written  on  parchment,  or  on  a  sort  of  bark  called  papyrus. 
They  were  all  burned  up,  and  thus  were  lost  the  records  of 
the  work  of  many  ancient  students. 

Caesar  was  victorious,  as  usual,  and  Cleopatra  was 
made  queen  of  Egypt.  The  Roman  general  then  left 
her  and  went  to  fight  in  Pontus,  where  a  new  war  had 
broken  out.  Such  was  the  energy  which  Caesar  showed 
that  he  soon  conquered  the  whole  country.  The  news 
of  his  victory  was  sent  to  Rome  in  three  Latin  words, 
"  Veniy  vidi,  viciy"  which  mean,  "  I  came,  I  saw,  I  con- 
quered." 

After  a  short  campaign  in  Africa,  Caesar  returned  to 
Rome,  where  he  was  rewarded  by  four  triumphs  such  as 
had  never  yet  been  seen.  Not  long  afterwards,  he  was 
given  the  title  of  Im-pe-raftor,  a  word  which  later  came  to 
mean  "emperor."  In  his  honor,  too,  one  of  the  Roman 
months  was  called  Julius,  from  which  our  name  July  has 
come. 

Caesar  made  one  more  remarkable  campaign  in  Spain 
before  he  really  settled  down  at  Rome.  He  now  devoted 
his  clear  mind  and  great  energy  to  making  better  laws. 
He  gave  grain  to  the  hungry  people,  granted  lands  to  the 
soldiers  who   had    fought  so  bravely,   and   became  ruler 


1 86 


under   the  title  of    dictator,   which   he  was  to   retain  for 
ten  years. 

As  the  people  in  Rome  were  always  very  fond  of  shows, 
Caesar  often  amused  them  by  sham  battles.  Sometimes, 
even,  he  would  change  the  arena  into  a  vast  pool,  by 
turning  aside  the  waters  of  the  Tiber;  and  then  galleys 
sailed   into   the   circus,    where    sham    naval   battles   were 


==^ 


Death  of  Caesar. 


fought  under  the  eyes  of  the  delig*hted  spectators.  He 
also  permitted  fights  by  gladiators ;  but,  as  he  was  not 
cruel  by  nature,  he  was  careful  not  to  let  them  grow  too 
fierce. 

Caesar  was  a  very  ambitious  man,  and  his  dearest  wish 
was  always  to  be  first,  even  in  Rome.  Some  of  his  friends 
approved   greatly  of  his  ambition,  and  would  have  liked 


1 87 

to  make  him  king.  But  others  were  anxious  to  keep  the 
republic,  and  feared  that  he  was  going  to  overthrow  it. 

Among  the  stanch  Roman  republicans  were  Cas'sius 
and  Brutus.  They  were  friends  of  Caesar,  but  they  did 
not  like  his  thirst  for  power.  Indeed,  they  soon  grew  so 
afraid  lest  he  should  accept  the  crown  that  they  made  a 
plot  to  murder  him. 

In  spite  of  many  warnings,  Caesar  went  to  the  senate 
on  the  day  appointed  by  Cassius  and  Brutus  for  his  death. 
It  is  said  that  he  also  paid  no  attention  to  the  appearance 
of  a  comet,  which  the  ancient  Romans  thought  to  be  a 
sign  of  evil,  although,  as  you  know,  a  comet  is  as  natural 
as  a  star.  Caesar  was  standing  at  the  foot  of  Pompey's 
statue,  calmly  reading  a  petition  which  had  been  handed 
to  him.  All  at  once  the  signal  was  given,  and  the  first 
blow  struck.  The  great  man  first  tried  to  defend  himself, 
but  when  he  saw  Brutus  pressing  forward,  dagger  in  hand, 
he  sorrowfully  cried  :  "  And  you,  too,  Brutus  !  "  Then  he 
covered  his  face  with  his  robe,  and  soon  fell,  pierced  with 
twenty-three  mortal  wounds. 

Thus  Caesar  died,  when  he  was  only  fifty-five  years  of 
age.  He  was  the  greatest  general,  the  best  statesman, 
and  the  finest  historian  of  his  time  and  race.  You  will 
find  many  interesting  things  to  read  about  him,  and  among 
them  is  a  beautiful  play  by  Shakes'peare. 

In  this  play  the  great  poet  tells  us  how  Caesar  was 
warned,  and  how  he  went  to  the  senate  in  spite  of  the 
warnings;  and  then  he  describes  the  heroic  death  of 
Caesar,  who  was  more  grieved  by  his  friends'  treachery 
than  by  the  ingratitude  of  the  Romans  whom  he  had 
served  for  so  many  years. 


i88 


LXVI.     THE   SECOND   TRIUMVIRATE. 

CJES AR,  the  greatest  man  in  Roman  history,  was  dead. 
He  had  been  killed  by  Brutus,  "  an  honorable  man," 
who  fancied  it  was  his  duty  to  rid  his  country  of  a  man 
whose  ambition  was  so  great  that  it  might  become 
hurtful. 

Brutus  was  as  stern  as  patriotic,  and  did  not  consider 
it  wrong  to  take  a  man's  life  for  the  good  of  the  country. 
He  therefore  did  not  hesitate  to  address  the  senate,  and 
to  try  and  explain  his  reasons  for  what  he  had  done. 

But  to  his  surprise  and  indignation,  he  soon  found  him- 
self speaking  to  empty  benches.  The  senators  had  all 
slipped  away,  one  by  one,  because  they  were  doubtful  how 
the  people  would  take  the  news  of  their  idol's  death. 

Brutus,  Cassius,  and  the  other  conspirators  were  equally 
uncertain,  so  they  retired  to  the  Capitol,  where  they  could 
defend  themselves  if  need  be.  The  Romans,  however, 
were  at  first  too  stunned  to  do  anything.  The  senators 
came  together  on  the  next  day  to  decide  whether  Caesar 
had  really  been  a  tyrant,  and  had  deserved  death ;  but 
Cicero  advised  them  to  leave  the  matter  unsettled. 

Thus,  by  Cicero's  advice,  the  murderers  were  neither 
rewarded  nor  punished ;  but  a  public  funeral  was  decreed 
for  the  dead  hero.  His  remains  were  exposed  in  the 
Forum,  where  he  was  laid  in  state  on  an  ivory  bed. 
There  Caesar's  will  was  read  aloud,  and  when  the  as- 
sembled people  heard  that  he  had  left  his  gardens  for 
public  use,  and  had  directed  that  a  certain  sum  of  money 
should  be  paid  to  every  poor  man,  their  grief  at  his  loss 
became  more  apparent  than  ever. 


189 

As  Caesar  had  no  son,  the  bulk  of  his  property  was 
left  to  his  nephew  and  adopted  son,  Oc-ta'vi-us.  When 
the  will  had  been  read,  Mark  Antony,  Caesar's  friend, 
pronounced  the  funeral  oration,  and  made  use  of  his  elo- 
quence to  stir  up  the  people  to  avenge  the  murder. 

He  gradually  worked  them  up  to  such  a  pitch  that 
they  built  the  funeral  pyre  with  their  own  hands,  and 
wished  to  put  the  murderers  to  death.  The  conspirators, 
however,  succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  city ;  and  be- 
fore long  Brutus  and  Cassius  made  themselves  masters 
of  Macedonia  and  Syria. 

With  Caesar  dead,  and  Cassius  and  Brutus  away,  Mark 
Antony  was  the  most  powerful  man  in  Rome.  He  soon 
discovered,  however,  that  Octavius  and  the  ex-consul 
Lepidus  would  prove  his  rivals.  After  fighting  against 
them  for  a  short  time,  without  gaining  any  advantage,  he 
finally  made  £eace  with  them. 

These  three  men  then  formed  what  is  known  in  his- 
tory as  the  Second  Triumvirate  (43  B.C.).  They  agreed 
that  Antony  should  rule  Gaul,  Lepidus  Spain,  and  Octa- 
vius Africa  and  the  Mediterranean ;  but  Rome  and  Italy 
were  to  be  held  in  common. 


>x*:< 


LXVII.     THE  VISION    OF    BRUTUS. 

AS  soon  as  the  triumvirs  had  thus  taken  all  the  power 
into  their  own  hands,  they  began  to  think  of  aveng- 
ing their  private  wrongs;  and  they  drew  up  long  lists 
of   the  people  that  were  to  be  slain.     In   this,  they  fol- 


190 

lowed  the  example  of  Marius  and  Sulla,  instead  of  show- 
ing themselves  generous  and  forgiving  like  Julius  Caesar. 

To  satisfy  one  another's  demands,  they  were  all  forced 
to  sacrifice  some  of  their  relatives  and  friends.  Lepidus 
gave  up  his  brother  to  the  vengeance  of  his  colleagues; 
Antony  did  the  same  with  his  uncle ;  and  Octavius  con- 
sented to  the  death  of  his  friend  Cicero. 

When  these  plans  were  settled,  the  triumvirs  marched 
towards  Rome,  and  took  possession  of  the  city  by  force. 
Then  their  soldiers  began  to  kill  all  the  citizens  whose 
names  stood  upon  the  proscription  lists.  Many  tried  to 
escape,  and  among  them  was  Cicero,  although  he  was  so 
ill  at  the  time  that  he  had  to  be  carried  in  a  litter. 

The  soldiers  pursued  the  orator,  and  soon  overtook 
him.  Knowing  that  all  resistance  would  be  useless,  Cic- 
ero thrust  his  head  meekly  out  of  the  litter,  and  it  was 
struck  off  with  a  single  blow.  The  men  also  carried 
away  his  right  hand,  because  Antony  had  said  that  he 
would  like  to  have  the  hand  which  had  written  such  angry 
speeches  against  him. 

Antony  and  his  wife,  Ful'vi-a,  are  said  to  have  received 
these  ghastly  presents  with  lively  tokens  of  joy.  Fulvia 
even  pierced  the  dead  orator's  tongue  with  her  golden 
hairpin,  in  revenge  for  his  having  ventured  to  speak  ill 
of  Antony.  But  this  unfeeling  woman  was  soon  pun- 
ished for  her  cruelty.  Her  husband,  who  had  not  scru- 
pled to  kill  a  friend,  soon  deserted  her,  and  she  finally 
died  of  grief  and  loneliness. 

More  than  two  thousand  Roman  citizens  were  mur- 
dered at  this  time  to  satisfy  the  cruelty  of  the  triumvirs. 
Many  others  escaped  death  only  by  leaving  the  country. 


191 

We  are  told  that  one  young  man  carried  off  his  aged 
and  infirm  father  on  his  back  to  save  him  from  his  pur- 
suers. Father  and  son  reached  a  place  of  safety,  where 
they  staid  in  hiding  until  they  could  return  to  Rome  with- 
out danger.  They  were  warmly  welcomed  when  they 
came  back,  and  every  one  had  a  kind  word  to  say  to 
the  brave  young  man  who  had  not  forsaken  his  father, 
although  his  own  life  was  threatened  too. 

At  the  very  head  of  the  triumvirs'  proscription  lists, 
stood  the  names  of  Brutus  and  Cassius;  but  these  mur- 
derers of  the  great  Caesar  were  absent,  and  therefore 
could  not  be  killed.  Brutus  had  gone  to  Athens,  in 
Greece,  where  he  persuaded  many  of  the  Romans  who 
were  studying  there  to  join  his  army  in  Macedonia. 

It  was  here  that  Brutus,  a  very  poor  sleeper,  once  had 
a  strange  dream.  A  specter  appeared  to  him  while  he 
slept,  and  solemnly  said:  "  Brutus,  I  am  thy  evil  genius; 
thou  shalt  see  me  again  at  Phi-lip'pi!" 

Shortly  after  this,  Brutus  was  camping  at  Philippi,  with 
an  army.  On  the  eve  of  a  great  battle,  he  is  said  to  have 
seen  the  same  specter,  who  now  warned  him  that  his  end 
was  near.  The  battle  of  Philippi  was  a  very  serious  one  ; 
for  Brutus,  Cassius,  and  all  their  friends  were  on  the  one 
side,  while  Mark  Antony,  Octavius,  and  many  other 
Romans  were  on  the  other. 

Before  very  long,  however,  Cassius  and  his  men  were 
defeated,  and  he  killed  himself,  without  waiting  for  the  end 
of  the  battle.  Brutus  was  at  first  victorious;  but  a  few 
days  later  he,  too,  was  defeated.  While  he  was  striking 
madly  right  and  left,  his  friend  Lu-cil'i-us  sprang  forward. 

Lucilius  had  seen  that  Antony's  men   were   trying  to 


192 

capture  Brutus  ;  so  he  threw  himself  before  his  beloved 
general,  crying  aloud  that  he  was  Brutus.  While  he  was 
being  taken  to  Antony's  tent,  where  the  mistake  was 
soon  discovered,  the  real  Brutus  escaped. 

Fearing  that  he  would  be  overtaken  and  made  prisoner, 
Brutus  vainly  implored  his  friends  and  slaves  to  kill  him ; 
then,  in  despair,  he  fell  at  last  upon  his  own  sword.  When 
Brutus  thus  put  an  end  to  his  life  he  was  only  forty-three 
years  of  age,  and  had  survived  Caesar  about  two  years. 


D»<C 


LXVIII.     ANTONY   AND    CLEOPATRA. 

THE  victory  at  Philippi  left  Mark  Antony,  Lepidus, 
and  Octavius  masters  of  the  Roman  world.  They 
soon  made  a  new  division  of  it,  by  which  while  Antony 
went  to  Asia,  and  Lepidus  to  Africa,  Octavius  staid  in 
Rome. 

Although  these  three  men  were  apparently  the  best  of 
friends,  they  really  feared  and  hated  one  another,  and  their 
alliance  could  not  last  very  long.  Octavius,  the  most  am- 
bitious of  the  three,  soon  determined  to  become  sole  ruler. 
He  knew  that  Lepidus  was  old  and  could  easily  be  dis- 
posed of;  but  Mark  Antony  was  so  powerful  that  it  was 
necessary  to  avoid  open  war  for  a  long  time. 

On  arriving  in  Asia,  Antony's  first  care  had  been  to 
summon  Cleopatra,  Queen  of  Egypt,  to  appear  before 
him  and  answer  to  the  accusation  of  having  helped  Brutus. 
Cleopatra  obeyed;  but,  instead  of  judging  her,  Antony  fell 
deeply  in  love  with  her. 


193 

To  please  this  proud  queen,  he  left  his  post  in  Asia,  and 
went  with  her  to  Egypt,  where  he  spent  month  after 
month  at  her  side.  His  wife  sent  for  him  many  times ; 
and,  as  he  did  not  come  back,  she  at  last  stirred  up  a  rebel- 
lion in  Italy. 

Before  Antony  could  join  her,  the  revolt  had  been  put 
down ;  and  he  treated  her  so  badly  that  she  soon  died  of 
grief.  Then  Antony  married  Oc-ta'vi-a,  the  sister  of 
Octavius,  and  the  two  triumvirs  joined  forces  against 
Sextus  Pompey,  the  son  of  Pompey  the  Great;  for  this 
man  had  taken  possession  of  Sicily,  and  was  collecting 
a  large  fleet. 

After  some  fighting,  the  two  colleagues  made  peace  with 
Sextus  Pompey,  but  this  peace  was  soon  broken,  and  the 
war  was  renewed.  Sicily,  in  time,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  triumvirs,  and  Pompey  fled  to  Syria,  where  he  was 
put  to  death  by  order  of  Antony. 

The  aged  Lepidus  was  now  recalled  to  Italy,  where  his 
share  of  the  government  was  taken  away  from  him.  In- 
stead of  a  province,  he  was  given  the  office  of  chief  pontiff, 
or  high  priest,  of  Rome,  which  he  retained  until  he  died. 

Antony,  in  the  mean  while,  had  wended  his  way  eastward 
again ;  and,  instead  of  attending  to  his  business  in  Asia,  he 
once  more  joined  Cleopatra  in  Egypt.  In  spite  of  his 
wife's  letters  and  of  the  threats  of  Octavius,  Antony  lin- 
gered there  year  after  year.  Such  was  the  influence  which 
Cleopatra  won  over  him  that  he  even  divorced  his  wife 
Octavia,  and  married  the  Egyptian  queen. 

Octavius  had  been  longing  for  a  good  excuse  to  make 
war  against  Antony ;  for,  as  you  know,  he  wished  to  be 
the  only  head  of  the  government.     He  therefore  pretended 

STO.  OF  ROM.  —  1 1 


(194) 


195 

to  be  very  angry  because  Antony  had  divorced  Octavia, 
and  he  made  ready  a  large  army. 

While  Octavius  was  gathering  troops,  and  manning  his 
fleet,  Antony  staid  with  Cleopatra,  and  thought  of  nothing 
but  pleasure  and  feasting.  He  gave  magnificent  banquets 
in  her  honor,  and  it  was  at  one  of  these  feasts  that  the 
Egyptian  queen  once  dissolved  a  priceless  pearl  in  vine- 
gar, and  swallowed  it,  merely  to  be  able  to  say  that  no  one 
had  ever  quaffed  so  costly  a  drink  as  she. 

Forced  at  last  to  meet  Octavius,  who  was  coming  with  a 
large  fleet,  Antony  and  Cleopatra  sailed  to  Ac'ti-um,  where 
a  great  naval  battle  took  place.  The  combined  fleets  of 
Antony  and  Cleopatra  were  very  large  indeed ;  but  Octa- 
vius won  a  glorious  victory. 

Cleopatra  had  come  in  her  gilded  galley,  with  its  sails  of 
purple  silk  and  a  richly  dressed  crew.  But  as  soon  as  the 
fighting  began,  she  was  so  frightened  that  she  turned  and 
fled.  When  Antony  saw  her  galley  sailing  away,  he  for- 
got honor  and  duty,  and  quickly  followed  her,  leaving  his 
people  to  end  the  battle  as  best  they  could. 


>J^c 


LXIX.     THE   POISONOUS    SNAKE. 

OCTAVIUS  followed  Antony  and  Cleopatra  to  Egypt 
as  soon  as  he  had  made  his  victory  sure.  Cleopatra 
tried  many  times  to  make  peace  with  him,  but  he  refused 
to  listen  to  her  unless  she  would  give  up  Mark  Antony. 
Then  the  fair  Egyptian  queen  tried  to  soften  the  stern 
young  conqueror's  heart  by  the  sight  of  her  great  beauty. 
But  this  plan  failed  also. 


196 

All  was  now  at  an  end,  and  Cleopatra  knew  that  Octa- 
vius  would  insist  upon  her  going  to  Rome,  where  she 
would.have  to  appear  in  his  triumph.  She  could  not  bear 
this  thought,  and  made  up  her  mind  to  die  rather  than  suf- 
fer such  a  disgrace. 

In  the  mean  while,  Mark  Antony  had  heard  that  she 
was  already  dead ;  so  he  called  his  slave  E'ros,  and  bade 
the  man  kill  him.  Eros  took  the  sword,  as  he  was  told ; 
but,  instead  of  killing  his  master,  he  drove  it  into  his  own 
heart,  and  fell  to  the  earth,  dead.  Then  Mark  Antony 
drew  the  sword  from  the  slave's  breast,  and  plunged  it 
into  his  own.  Such  was  his  hesitation,  however,  that  the 
wound  did  not  prove  at  once  fatal ;  and  he  lived  to  hear 
that  the  news  he  had  received  was  false,  and  that  Cleopatra 
still  lived. 

To  see  her  once  more,  Antony  had  himself  carried  to  the 
tower  in  which  the  Egyptian  queen  had  taken  refuge,  with 
her  servants  and  treasures.  But  the  doors  were  so  well 
barricaded  that  they  could  not  be  opened.  He  therefore 
had  himself  lifted  through  a  window ;  but  he  died  just  as 
he  was  laid  at  Cleopatra's  feet. 

After  obtaining  permission  to  bury  Antony,  and  assur- 
ing herself  that  there  was  no  hope  of  escape,  Cleopatra 
lay  down  upon  her  couch  to  die.  Taking  an  asp  —  a  very 
poisonous  serpent  —  from  a  basket  of  fruit  in  which  it  was 
hidden,  she  allowed  it  to  bite  her  till  she  died. 

Octavius,  warned  of  her  danger,  sent  in  haste  to  save 
her ;  but  his  officer  found  her  already  dead,  with  her  favorite 
attendants  dying  at  her  feet.  "  Is  this  well  ?  "  he  asked  of 
one  of  these  women. 

"  Yes,  it  is  well !  "  she  answered,  and  died  smiling  because 


197 

her  beautiful  mistress  would  never  be  obliged  to  follow 
the  conqueror's  chariot  in  the  streets  of  Rome. 

By  the  death  of  his  rival,  Octavius  now  found  himself 
sole  ruler;  and  with  Antony  the  old  Roman  Republic  ends, 
and  the  story  of  the  Roman  Empire  begins. 


:>**< 


LXX.     THE   AUGUSTAN    AGE. 

OCTAVIUS  had  been  noted  for  his  severity  and  even 
cruelty  as  long  as  he  shared  the  government  with 
Lepidus  and  Antony;  but  he  now  changed  his  ways 
entirely,  and  soon  won  a  great   reputation  for  kindness. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Antony,  he  assumed  the  title  of 
imperator,  or  emperor,  which  his  uncle  had  borne ;  but,  as 
the  Romans  had  always  called  victorious  generals  by  this 
name,  it  gave  no  offense  to  the  people.  Not  content  with 
one  title,  Octavius  soon  took  those  of  censor,  tribune,  and 
chief  pontiff;  and  he  assumed  all  the  pomp  that  belonged 
to  these  offices.  Consuls  still  continued  to  be  elected,  but 
they  had  no  real  authority,  and  were  mere  puppets  in  the 
emperor's  hands. 

In  memory  of  his  uncle,  Octavius  also  took  the  name 
of  Caesar ;  and  this  title  was  borne  by  all  the  Roman  em- 
perors, although  most  of  them  did  not  belong  to  the  fam- 
ily of  the  great  general. 

Caesar  Au-gus'tus,  as  Octavius  was  now  generally  called, 
had  many  good  friends  in  Rome.  Among  them  was  his 
favorite  general,  A-grip'pa,  and  a  very  rich  man  named 
Mae-ce'nas.     This  Maecenas  was  very  fond  of  the  society 


198 

of  clever  people,  and  he  liked  to  help  all  the  learned  men 
and  writers  of  his  day. 

At  the  banquets  given  in  the  house  of  Maecenas,  you 
would  have  seen  the  most  famous  men  of  the  time ;  and 
this  period  was  so  rich  in  talented  writers  that  it  is  called 
the  Au-gus'tan  Age.  The  greatest  genius  was  the  poet 
Vir'gil,  the  author  of  the  ^E-ne'id.  The  ^Eneid,  as  you 
may  know,  is  a  poem  in  which  are  told  the  adventures  of 
^Eneas,  the  founder  of  the  Roman  race. 

There  were  other  talented  poets  in  Rome,  such  as 
Ov'id  and  Hor'ace,  whose  works  you  will  find  very  beauti- 
ful when  you  come  to  read  Latin.  Then,  too,  there  was 
Liv'y,  the  historian,  and  Cor-ne'li-us  Ne'pos,  the  writer  of 
the  lives  of  great  men. 

After  so  many  years  of  constant  warfare,  the  Romans 
were  glad  to  be  at  peace  with  the  whole  world.  It  was 
therefore  a  cause  of  much  rejoicing  when  Augustus 
ordered  that  the  Temple  of  Janus  should  again  be  closed. 
This  was  only  the  third  time  that  such  a  thing  had  ever 
happened ;  and  yet  the  temple  was  said  to  have  been  built 
by  Numa  Pompilius,  the  second  king  of  Rome. 

Although  Augustus  seemed  so  fortunate,  he  was  not  a 
happy  man  ;  and  while  his  public  career  was  very  brilliant, 
he  had  many  sorrows.  For  instance,  he  lost  two  grand- 
sons, his  sister  Octavia,  and  his  nephew  and  son-in-law 
Marcellus ;  and  he  also  survived  the  friends  he  loved  so 
dearly,  —  Agrippa  and  Maecenas. 

To  amuse  the  people,  Augustus  often  ordered  the  cele- 
bration of  many  games,  especially  foot  and  chariot  races ; 
but  he  prevented  as  much  as  possible  the  combats  be- 
tween gladiators,  and  those  with  wild  beasts.     The  wise 


(199) 


200 


emperor  did  this  because  he  noticed  that  such  sights  tended 
to  make  the  Romans  hard-hearted  and  cruel. 

The  great  treasures  which  Augustus  had  brought  back 
from  Egypt  and  elsewhere,  were  now  used  to  put  up  many 
fine  buildings  in  Rome.  Thus  the  city  changed  very 
rapidly  under  his  rule ;  and  his  admirers  even  said  that 
he  found  Rome  of  bricks  and  left  it  of  marble. 

About  twenty-five  years  after  Augustus  became  em- 
peror, and  during  the  peace,  Jesus  Christ  was  born  in 
Beth'le-hem  of  Judea.  This  country  was  then  a  Roman 
province  governed  by  Her'od,  whom  Antony  had  made 
king. 

With  the  birth  of  Christ  a  new  era  or  epoch  begins. 
Until  now,  in  telling  when  anything  happened,  we  have 
always  told  how  many  years  it  was  before  Christ  (B.C.); 
but  from  this  time  on  we  simply  give  the  number  of  the 
year  after  the  birth  of  Christ,  or  add  to  this  number  the 
letters  A.D.,  which  mean  "  In  the  year  of  our  Lord." 

Although  Augustus  was  polite  and  gentle,  and  an  ex- 
cellent ruler,  he  still  had  a  few  enemies ;  and  among  these 
was  Cinna,  a  grandson  of  Pompey  the  Great.  Cinna  hated 
Augustus  so  bitterly  that  he  once  made  an  attempt  to  kill 
him.  But  Augustus  sent  for  Cinna,  told  him  that  his 
plans  were  known,  and  asked  why  he  was  so  anxious  to 
see  his  ruler  dead. 

Cinna  at  first  tried  to  deny  that  he  had  any  such  desire, 
but  he  was  soon  forced  to  confess  all.  Instead  of  sending 
him  to  prison,  or  having  him  executed  on  the  spot,  Au- 
gustus now  freely  forgave  him.  Cinna's  heart  was  so 
deeply  touched  by  this  generosity  that  he  humbly  begged 
the  emperor's  pardon,  and  became  his  most  faithful  friend. 


201 


LXXI.     DEATH    OF    AUGUSTUS. 

WHEN  Octavius  txxk  the  name  Augustus,  he  re- 
ceived the  supreme  power  for  a  term  of  ten  years, 
but  at  the  end  of  this  time  his  authority  was  continued  for 
another  term,  and  then  again  and  again,  as  long  as  he 
lived.  He  also  obtained  the  senate's  permission  to  leave 
the  title  of  emperor  to  his  successor. 

In  reward  for  his  victories,  he  enjoyed  three  triumphs, 
and  one  of  the  months  of  the  year  bore  his  name  of 
Augustus,  —  our  August.  After  his  triumphs  he  closed 
the  Temple  of  Janus,  as  we  have  seen,  and  peace  reigned 
then  through  all  the  Roman  world;  but  it  did  not  last 
very  long. 

It  was  followed  by  many  wars,  and  near  the  end  of  his 
career  Augustus  met  with  a  great  sorrow  from  which  he 
never  recovered.  Some  of  the  German  tribes  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Rhine  had  risen  up  against  the  Romans. 
Augustus  therefore  sent  several  legions  under  Va'rus  to 
reduce  them  to  obedience  once  more. 

The  Germans  were  then  under  the  leadership  of  Ar- 
min'i-us,  one  of  their  greatest  heroes.  He  was  anxious  to 
have  them  recover  their  former  freedom ;  so  he  cleverly 
lured  the  Roman  general  and  his  troops  into  the  Teu'to- 
burg  forest.  There  the  Germans  surrounded  them  and 
killed  almost  every  man  in  the  Roman  army. 

While  Arminius  was  rejoicing  over  this  victory,  a  mes- 
senger bore  the  sad  tidings  to  Rome.  When  Augustus 
heard  how  his  brave  soldiers  had  been  slain,  he  was  so 
grieved  that  he  could  not  sleep.    Instead,  he  would  wander 


202 


through  his  palace  at  night,  mournfully  crying,  "  Varus, 
Varus,  give  me  back  my  legions !  " 

Not  very  long  after  this  event,  Augustus  became  so  ill 
that  he  knew  he  would  die.  He  called  all  his  friends 
around  his  bed,  and  asked  them  whether  they  thought  he 
had  played  his  part  well.  "If  so,"  said  he,  "give  me  your 
applause." 

Augustus  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  leaving  the 
title  of  emperor  to  his  stepson  Tiberius.  There  was  great 
sorrow  in  Rome  when  he  died,  and  all  the  women  wore 
mourning  for  a  whole  year.  Temples  were  erected  in  his 
honor,  and  before  long  sacrifices  were  offered  up  to  him 
as  if  he  had  been  a  god. 

Tiberius,  the  stepson  and  successor  of  Augustus,  was 
already  a  middle-aged  man.  He  had  received  an  excellent 
education,  but  was  unfortunately  a  very  bad  man.  As 
long  as  Augustus  lived,  he  pretended  to  be  very  good,  and 
instead  of  remaining  at  court  withdrew  for  a  while  to  the 
island  of  Rhodes,  where  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in 
the  company  of  astrologers. 

As  you  may  never  have  heard  of  astrologers,  you  must 
first  know  that  these  were  learned  men,  who  gazed  at  the 
stars  and  planets,  noticed  their  rising  and  setting,  and 
watched  their  progress  across  the  sky.  These  men,  more- 
over, pretended  that  they  could  tell  the  future  by  the 
motions  of  the  stars;  and  they  earned  much  money  by 
telling  fortunes. 

Tiberius  had  a  high  tower,  rising  on  the  top  of  a  cliff  at 
the  edge  of  the  sea,  and  here  he  often  invited  astrologers, 
to  make  them  read  the  future  in  the  sky.  He  was  so 
clever  himself  that  he  suspected  that  these  men  were  only 


203 

humbugs ;  and  whenever  they  boasted  about  knowing 
everything,  even  their  own  future,  he  showed  them  that 
they  were  mistaken  by  throwing  them  over  the  cliff,  so 
that  they  would  fall  into  the  sea  and  be  drowned. 

An  astrologer  named  Thra-syl'lus,  who  had  probably 
heard  of  the  fate  of  many  of  his  companions,  was  once 
sent  for  in  great  haste.  Tiberius  led  him  to  his  tower  and 
bade  him  tell  the  future.  The  man  gazed  at  the  stars  for 
some  time,  and  finally  said:  "You,  Tiberius,  are  sure  to 
become  emperor,  but  /  am  threatened  with  a  great 
danger !  " 

Pleased  by  this  answer,  Tiberius  allowed  the  clever 
astrologer  to  leave  the  tower  unharmed. 


3X^< 


LXXII.     VARUS   AVENGED. 

TIBERIUS  had  been  summoned  to  Rome  several  years 
before  the  emperor's  death,  for  Augustus  little  sus- 
pected what  a  bad  man  his  stepson  really  was.  He  even 
adopted  Tiberius  as  his  own  son  and  successor,  and  gave 
him  the  titles  of  Caesar  and  emperor.  These  were  given 
to  him,  however,  only  upon  condition  that  he  would,  in 
his  turn,  adopt  his  nephew  Ger-man'i-cus. 

This  young  man  was  as  good  and  true  as  Tiberius  was 
bad  and  deceitful.  As  he  was  very  brave  indeed,  he  was 
given  the  command  of  the  Roman  legions  stationed  on 
the  Rhine ;  and  here  he  soon  won  the  affections  of  all  of 
his  soldiers. 

Tiberius  had  a  bad  motive  for  nearly  everything  that 


204 

he  did  ;  and  he  had  sent  his  nephew  to  the  Rhine  be- 
cause of  the  hatred  that  he  felt  towards  the  young  man. 
He  hoped  that  in  this  dangerous  position  Germanicus 
would  soon  die  like  Varus ;  for  the  Germans,  encouraged 
by  their  one  victory,  were  constantly  trying  to  win  more. 

On  one  occasion,  while  Germanicus  was  absent  for  a 
short  time,  the  Roman  legions  revolted.  The  young  gen- 
eral, fearing  for  the  safety  of  his  wife,  A-grip-pi'na,  and 
his  children,  sent  them  all  away.  Now  it  seems  that  those 
rude  men  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to  his  youngest  child, 
who  was  only  three  years  old.  The  boy,  too,  was  fond 
of  the  soldiers,  and  wore  little  boots  like  theirs ;  and  on 
account  of  these  he  was  known  by  the  name  of  Ca-lig'u-la. 

To  have  their  little  favorite  back  among  them  once 
more,  the  revolted  soldiers  humbly  came  and  begged  Ger- 
manicus to  forgive  them.  He  did  so  freely,  but  took 
advantage  of  their  new  resolutions  of  good  conduct  to  lead 
them  against  the  Germans.  After  a  few  victories,  the 
Roman  army  came  to  the  very  spot  where  Varus  and 
his  legions  had  so  treacherously  been  slain ;  and  here 
Germanicus  paused  with  his  men. 

The  bones  of  the  dead  Romans  were  piously  collected 
and  buried  under  a  great  mound,  upon  which  Germanicus 
laid  the  first  sod.  Then,  while  his  soldiers  were  thirst- 
ing to  avenge  their  countrymen's  death,  he  led  them 
on  further  and  further,  until  they  met  and  defeated 
Arminius. 

In  the  mean  while,  Tiberius  had  begun  his  reign.  He 
pretended  at  first  that  he  did  not  want  the  imperial  crown; 
but  he  secretly  bribed  the  senators  to  get  down  on  their 
knees  before  him  and  implore  him  to  accept  it. 


(205) 


206 


The  new  emperor,  unlike  most  Romans,  took  no  delight 
in  chariot  races,  pantomimes,  or  shows  of  any  kind. 
These  amusements,  however,  were  constantly  taking  place, 
and  the  people  thronged  into  the  circuses  to  see  the  fun. 
Very  often  the  benches  were  overcrowded ;  and  on  one 
occasion  a  theater  at  Fi-de'nae  gave  way  under  the  great 
weight,  and  twenty  thousand  persons  were  killed. 

Tiberius  was  jealous  of  the  victories  won  by  Germani- 
cus,  and  of  the  affection  which  his .  soldiers  had  for  him ; 
so  the  young  commander  was  summoned  home  soon  after 
his  victory  over  Arminius.  Germanicus  returned  as  a  vic- 
torious general,  and  the  senate  awarded  him  a  magnificent 
triumph,  in  which  Thus-nel'da,  the  wife  of  Arminius,  pre- 
ceded his  car  with  her  children. 

In  memory  of  this  triumph,  a  coin  was  struck  in  Rome, 
bearing  on  one  side  the  name  and  picture  of  Germanicus, 
and  on  the  other  his  return  from  Germany  with  the 
broken  ensigns  of  Varus.  The  inscription  around  it  was, 
in  Latin,  "  The  return  of  good  luck."  This  coin,  like 
many  others  thus  struck  for  special  occasions,  is  very  rare 
and  precious,  and  can  be  seen  only  in  the  best  collec- 
tions. 


>XK< 


LXXIII.     DEATH    OF   GERMANICUS. 

SOON  after  the  return  of  Germanicus  from  the  north, 
the  news  came  that  the  Parthians  were  threatening 
an  invasion.  Tiberius  at  once  bade  his  adopted  son  go 
to  Asia  and  fight  them;  but  he  still  felt  very  jealous  of 


207 

Germanicus,  and  it  was  said  that  he  sent  secret  orders  to 
his  agent,  Pi'so,  to  kill  the  young  prince. 

Poor  Germanicus,  who  little  dreamed  of  these  evil  inten- 
tions, took  the  cup  of  poison  which  Piso  offered  him,  and 
died  soon  after  drinking.it.  His  soldiers  were  so  furious 
at  his  death  that  they  would  have  killed  the  traitor  had 
he  not  fled. 

All  the  people  at  An'ti-och,  where  the  noble  prince  had 
died,  mourned  him.  A  solemn  funeral  was  held,  and  his 
ashes  were  placed  in  an  urn,  and  given  to  Agrippina,  so 
that  she  might  carry  them  back  to  Italy.  Even  the  ene- 
mies of  Germanicus  were  sorry  when  they  heard  that  he 
had  perished,  and  they  showed  their  respect  for  his  mem- 
ory by  not  fighting  for  several  days. 

Agrippina  now  sadly  returned  to  Rome,  carrying  her 
husband's  ashes,  and  followed  by  her  six  young  children. 
She  was  met  and  escorted  by  crowds  of  people,  and  all 
wept  as  she  passed  slowly  by  on  her  way  from  the  ship 
to  the  tomb  of  Augustus,  where  the  ashes  of  Germanicus 
were  placed. 

Even  Tiberius  made  believe  to  be  sorry.  When 
Agrippina  came  before  him  and  accused  Piso  and  his  wife 
of  poisoning  her  husband,  the  emperor  basely  deserted 
them  both.  A  few  days  later  Piso  was  found  dead,  his 
heart  pierced  by  a  sword ;  and,  although  no  one  ever  knew 
exactly  how  this  had  happened,  many  of  the  Romans 
believed  that  he  had  been  killed  by  order  of  Tiberius. 

After  the  death  of  Germanicus,  Tiberius  threw  aside  all 
restraint  and  showed  himself,  as  he  was,  a  monster  of 
cruelty  and  vice.  He  chose  servants  who  were  as  wicked 
as    he,    and    Se-ja'nus,    the    captain    of    the    Pre-to'ri-an 


208 


Guard  (as  his  bodyguard  was  called),  was  a  man  after  his 
own  heart.  This  Sejanus,  however,  was  ungrateful 
enough  to  have  Dru'sus,  the  emperor's  son,  secretly 
poisoned;  but  everybody  thought  that  the  young  prince 
had  died  a  natural  death. 

Sejanus,  you  must  know,  was  as  ambitious  as  he  was 
cruel.  While  he  pretended  to  be  very  devoted  to  Tiberius, 
he  wished  to  be  rid  of  the  emperor  so  that  he  might 
reign  in  his  stead.  He  therefore  began  by  persuading  Jiis 
master  to  retire  to  the  island  of  Ca'pri,  where  the  climate 
was  delightful,  and  from  whence  the  emperor  could  easily 
send  his  orders  to  Rome. 

Sejanus,  being  left  in  Rome  with  full  powers,  then 
killed  all  the  people  who  would  be  likely  to  be  in  his  way. 
Among  his  victims  were  many  friends  of  Germanicus  and 
some  of  the  dead  hero's  children.  Agrippina,  the  widow 
of  Germanicus,  was  banished  to  a  barren  and  rocky  is- 
land, in  the  Mediterranean,  where  she  is  said  to  have  died 
of  hunger  and  thirst. 


LXXIV.     TIBERIUS   SMOTHERED. 

SUCH  was  the  cruelty  of  Sejanus,  and  the  tortures  which 
he  made  people  suffer  before  they  died,  that  many 
killed  themselves  to  avoid  falling  into  his  hands.  The 
news  of  these  cruel  deeds  left  Tiberius  quite  unmoved ; 
but  his  anger  was  at  once  aroused  when  some  one  finally 
had  courage  enough  to  tell  him  that  Sejanus  was  plan- 
ning to  become  emperor  in  his  stead. 


209 

Although  he  now  hated  Sejanus,  Tiberius  made  believe 
to  trust  him  more  than  ever.  A  messenger  was  sent  to 
Sejanus  with  a  letter  full  of  compliments,  and  to  the  senate 
with  one  in  which  there  was  an  order  to  put  him  in  prison. 
Sejanus  came  up  the  steps  of  the  senate  house  reading  his 
letter,  and  every  one  bowed  down  before  him  as  usual. 
But  a  few  minutes  later  the  scene  changed. 

No  sooner  had  the  senators  read  the  emperor's  order 
than  they  all  fell  upon  Sejanus,  and  struck  and  insulted 
him.  The  people  followed  their  example,  and,  when  the 
executioner  had  strangled  him,  they  tore  his  body  to  pieces, 
and  flung  the  bloody  remains  into  the  Tiber. 

Tiberius  gave  further  vent  to  his  rage  by  ordering  the 
death  of  all  the  people  whom  he  fancied  to  be  his  enemies. 
He  gave  strict  orders,  also,  that  no  one  should  shed  tears 
for  those  he  had  condemned.  Because  one  poor  woman 
wept  over  the  execution  of  her  son,  she  too  was  killed ;  and  a 
playwright  was  put  to  death  because  he  had  written  a  play 
wherein  the  emperor  fancied  the  man  found  fault  with  him. 

All  the  Roman  prisons  were  full ;  but  when  Tiberius 
heard  that  they  would  not  hold  another  prisoner,  he  gave 
orders  that  they  should  be  cleared  by  killing  all  the  people 
in  them,  without  waiting  to  have  them  tried.  He  only 
once  expressed  regret,  and  that  was  when  he  heard  that  a 
young  man  had  killed  himself,  and  had  thus  escaped  the 
tortures  which  he  had  intended  to  inflict  upon  him. 

A  man  so  wicked  could  not  be  happy,  and  you  will  not 
be  surprised  to  hear  that  Tiberius  lived  in  constant  dread 
of  being  killed.  He  could  not  sleep  well,  was  afraid  of 
every  one,  started  at  every  sound,  and  fancied  that  every- 
body was  as  mean  and  cruel  as  himself. 

STO.  OF  ROM.  — 14 


210 

Eighteen  years  after  Tiberius  came  to  the  throne,  Jesus 
Christ  was  crucified  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  is  said  that  Pon'- 
tius  Pi'late,  the  Roman  governor,  sent  the  emperor  a  long 
account  of  His  miracles,  trial,  death,  and  resurrection. 
This  story  interested  Tiberius,  and  he  proposed  to  the 
senate  that  Christ  should  be  admitted  among  the  Roman 
gods,  and  that  his  statue  should  be  placed  in  the  Pan- 
theon. 

The  senators  did  not  like  to  do  anything  which  they  had 
not  suggested  themselves,  so  they  refused  to  do  as  Tibe- 


The  Pantheon. 


rius  wished.  Many  years  after,  however,  all  the  heathen 
gods  ceased  to  be  worshiped  in  Rome,  because  the  peo- 
ple had  learned  to  believe  in  the  Christ  whom  these  sena- 
tors had  despised. 

As  old  age  came  on,  Tiberius  began  to  suffer  much 
from  ill  health,  and  became  subject  to  long  fainting  fits. 
While  he  was  thus  unconscious  one  day,  the  people  fan- 


211 


cied  that  he  was  dead,  and  began  to  rejoice  openly.  They 
even  proclaimed  Caligula,  the  son  of  Germanicus,  emperor 
in  his  stead. 

In  the  midst  of  their  rejoicings,  they  suddenly  learned 
that  Tiberius  was  not  dead,  but  was  slowly  returning  to 
his  senses.  The  people  were  terrified,  for  they  knew  that 
Tiberius  was  so  revengeful  in  spirit  that  he  would  soon 
put  them  all  to  death. 

The  chief  of  the  pretorian  guard,  however,  did  not  lose 
his  presence  of  mind.  Running  into  the  sick  emperor's 
room,  he  piled  so  many  mattresses  and  pillows  upon  the 
bed  that  Tiberius  was  soon  smothered. 


>XXc 


LXXV.     THE   WILD   CALIGULA. 

AS  Caligula  was  the  son  of  virtuous  parents,  everybody 
expected  that  he  would  prove  to  be  a  good  man. 
But  he  had  lost  both  father  and  mother  when  he  was  very 
young,  and  had  been  brought  up  among  wicked  people. 
It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  he  followed  the  example 
he  had  so  long  had  under  his  eyes,  and  turned  out  to  be 
even  worse  than  Tiberius. 

Caligula,  like  his  great-uncle,  was  a  hypocrite,  so  at 
first  he  pretended  to  be  very  good  ;  but,  before  many  months 
had  passed,  the  Romans  discovered  that  he  was  as  cruel 
and  vicious  as  he  could  be. 

Among  his  many  other  failings,  Caligula  was  very  vain. 
Not  content  with  adopting  all  the  pomp  of  an  Eastern 
king,  he  soon  wished  to  be  worshiped  as  one  of  the  gods  ; 


212 


and  he  struck  off  the  heads  of  their  statues,  so  as  to  have 
them  replaced  by  copies  of  his  own. 

Sometimes,  too,  he  stood  in  the  temple,  dressed  as  Mars 
or  even  as  Venus,  and  forced  the  people  to  worship  him. 
He  often  pretended  to  hold  conversations  with  the  gods, 
and  even  to  threaten  and  scold  them  whenever  things  did 
not  suit  him. 

Sometimes  he  went  out  to  woo  the  full  moon,  as  if  he 
had  been  its  lover,  and  he  treated  his  horse  far  better  than 
any  of  his  subjects.  This  animal,  whose  name  was  In-ci- 
ta'tus,  lived  in  a  white  marble  stable,  and  ate  out  of  an 
ivory  manger ;  and  sentinels  were  placed  all  around  to  see 
that  no  sound,  however  slight,  should  disturb  him  when 
asleep. 

Caligula  often  invited  Incitatus  to  his  own  banquets, 
and  there  the  horse  was  made  to  eat  oats  off  a  golden 
plate  and  drink  wine  out  of  the  emperor's  own  cup.  Calig- 
ula was  on  the  point  of  sending  the  name  of  Incitatus  to 
the  senate,  and  of  having  him  elected  as  consul  of  Rome, 
when  this  favorite  horse  died,  and  thus  put  a  stop  to  his 
master's  extravagance. 

Many  historians  think  that  Caligula  was  not  responsible 
for  ail  the  harm  that  he  did ;  for  he  was  once  very  ill,  and 
it  was  only  after  that  illness  that  he  began  to  do  all  these 
crazy  things.  Some  of  his  courtiers  had  exclaimed  that 
they  would  gladly  die  if  the  emperor  could  only  be  well ; 
so  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  be  up  again,  he  forced  them 
to  kill  themselves. 

As  time  went  on,  Caligula's  madness  and  cruelty 
increased,  and  he.  did  many  more  absurd  things.  For 
instance,  he  once  started  out  with  a  large  army,  saying 


213 

that  he  was  going  to  make  war  against  the  Germans. 
But,  when  he  came  to  the  Rhine,  he  gave  orders  that  a 
few  German  slaves  should  hide  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  Then,  rushing  into  their  midst,  he  made  believe  to 
take  them  captive ;  and  when  he  came  back  to  Rome  he 
insisted  upon  having  a  triumph. 

Before  going  back  home,  however,  he  started  out  to 
conquer  Britain ;  but  when  he  came  to  the  sea  he  directed 
his  soldiers  to  pick  up  a  lot  of  shells  on  the  shore.  These 
he  brought  back  to  Rome,  as  booty,  and  he  pompously 
called  them  the  spoils  of  the  ocean. 

An  astrologer  once  told  him  that  he  was  as  likely  to 
become  emperor  as  to- walk  over  the  sea;  and  he  wished 
to  prove  his  ability  to  do  both.  As  he  was  emperor 
already,  he  ordered  that  a  bridge  of  boats  should  be  built 
across  an  arm  of  the  sea ;  and  then  he  walked  over  it 
simply  to  show  how  wrong  the  astrologer  had  been. 

An  ordinary  boat  to  travel  about  in  would  not  have 
suited  Caligula,  so  he  had  a  galley  built  of  cedar  wood. 
The  oars  were  gilded,  the  sails  were  made  of  silk,  and 
on  the  deck  was  a  pleasure  garden  with  real  plants  and 
trees  bearing  fruit  of  all  kinds. 

The  cruelty  of  this  emperor  was  quite  as  great  as  his 
folly.  We  are  told  that  he  killed  his  own  grandmother, 
caused  many  Romans  to  die  in  slow  torture,  and  once 
exclaimed,  "  I  wish  that  the  Roman  people  had  but  one 
head  so  that  I  might  cut  it  off  at  a  blow !  " 

Caligula's  tyranny  lasted  about  three  years.  Unable  to 
endure  it  any  longer,  some  of  the  Romans  formed  a  con- 
spiracy, and  Caligula  was  murdered  by  one  of  his  guards 
whom  he  had  taunted.     The  first  blow  having  been  struck 


(2I4) 


215 

• 

by  this  man,  the  other  conspirators  closed  around  Caligula, 
and  it  was  found  later  that  he  had  been  pierced  by  no  less 
than  thirty  mortal  wounds. 

Such  was  the  end  of  this  monster,  of  whom  Sen'e-ca,  a 
Roman  writer,  has  said  :  "  Nature  seemed  to  have  brought 
him  forth  to  show  what  mischief  could  be  effected  by  the 
greatest  vices  supported  by  the  greatest  authority." 


>;*<< 


LXXVI.     THE  WICKED  WIVES  OF   CLAUDIUS. 

THE  conspirators  were  so  frightened  after  they  had 
killed  Caligula  that  they  fled  in  haste,  without  even 
thinking  of  naming  his  successor.  Then  the  soldiers 
began  to  wander  through  the  deserted  palace,  hoping  that 
they  would  find  some  spoil ;  and  one  of  them  stumbled 
upon  Clau'di-us,  Caligula's  uncle,  who  was  hiding  behind  a 
curtain. 

This  Claudius  was  not  only  a  coward,  but  half-witted ; 
and  he  had  hidden  there  because  he  fancied  that  the  con- 
spirators would  kill  him  too. 

The  soldiers  now  dragged  him  out  of  his  hiding  place ; 
but  instead  of  killing  him  they  placed  him  upon  the  throne, 
and  hailed  him  as  Caesar  and  emperor.  This  strange 
choice  was  not  disputed  by  either  people  or  senate,  and 
thus  Claudius  became  the  fourth  emperor  of  Rome. 

Claudius  was  at  first  very  moderate,  and  tried  to  admin- 
ister justice  fairly.  But  unfortunately  he  was  very  weak- 
minded,  and  he  had  married  one  of  the  worst  women  who 
ever  lived,  —  the  wicked  Mes-sa-li'na.     Not  satisfied  with 


2l6 


committing  every  crime  herself,  this  woman  forced  her 
weak  husband  to  do  wrong  also. 

The  Romans  had  been  in  the  habit  of  rewarding  very 
good  and  faithful  slaves  by  giving  them  their  liberty. 
These  freedmen  often  remained  in  their  former  master's 
service.  They  could  no  longer  be  sold  or  severely  pun- 
ished, and  they  were  paid  for  their  services ;  but  many 
still   considered   themselves    as    their    master's    property. 

Claudius  had  many  such  freedmen  at  his  service,  and 
among  them  were  Nar-cis'sus  and  Pal'las.  They  were 
very  shrewd,  but  were  cruel  and  vicious,  and  agreed  to 
everything  that  Messalina  proposed.  Once  they  got  pos- 
session of  all  the  wheat  in  town,  and  refused  to  sell  it  ex- 
cept at  so  high  a  price  that  the  poor  could  not  buy  any, 
and  were  in  great  distress. 

One  day  when  her  husband  was  absent,  the  wicked 
Messalina  publicly  married  another  man.  As  she  had 
quarreled  with  the  freedman  Narcissus,  he  told  Claudius 
what  she  had  done.  The  emperor  was  so  angry  that  he 
allowed  Narcissus  to  send  men  to  kill  her.  He  had  long 
ago  ceased  to  love  her,  although  she  was  the  mother  of 
two  good  and  lovely  children,  Bri-tan'ni-cus  and  Octavia; 
and  when  they  came  to  tell  him  that  she  was  dead,  he 
calmly  continued  his  meal  without  even  growing  pale. 

Claudius  had  given  much  money  to  the  pretorian 
guard,  because  they  had  chosen  him  to  become  em- 
peror after  Caligula's  death.  He  also  took  much  pride  in 
the  other  soldiers,  although  he  himself  was  far  too  much 
of  a  coward  to  fight;  and  it  was  during  his  reign  that 
part  of  Britain  first  became  a  Roman  province. 

When  the  Roman  legions  in  Dal-ma'tia  heard  that  the 


217 

pretorian  guard  in  Rome  had  named  an  emperor,  they 
wished  to  name  one  too.  So  they  set  their  general  upon 
a  throne,  and  then  asked  him  to  lead  them  to  Rome  to 
take  possession  of  the  city. 

On  the  way  thither,  the  troops  quarreled  with  their 
chief.  The  result  was  a  mutiny,  in  which  the  ambitious 
general  was  slain.  Then  Claudius  sent  out  a  new  com- 
mander, and  gave  orders  that  those  who  had  conspired 
against  him  should  be  arrested  and  sent  to  Rome. 

Among  these  prisoners  was  an  officer  named  Pae'tus. 
His  wife,  Ar'ri-a,  was  so  devoted  to  him  that  she  followed 
him  to  Rome.  When  she  heard  that  he  had  been  con- 
demned to  death  by  horrible  torture,  she  advised  him  to 
kill  himself.  Taking  a  dagger,  Arria  plunged  it  into  her 
own  breast,  and  then  handed  it  to  her  husband.  With  a 
smile,  she  exclaimed,  "  Paetus,  it  does  not  hurt." 

Thus  urged,  Paetus  took  the  same  dagger,  and  killed 
himself  too. 

When  Messalina  had  been  killed,  her  enemy,  Narcissus, 
imagined  that  he  would  be  allowed  to  govern  as  he 
pleased.  He  was  greatly  disappointed,  therefore,  when 
Claudius  married  Agrippina,  the  sister  of  Caligula;  for 
she  was  fully  as  wicked  and  fond  of  power  as  her  brother 
had  ever  been. 

Agrippina  had  been  married  before;  and,  as  her  hus- 
band died  very  suddenly,  it  was  whispered  in  Rome  that 
she  had  poisoned  him.  The  new  queen  brought  into  the 
palace  her  son  Ne'ro,  whom  she  hoped  to  see  on  the 
throne  before  very  long,  although  the  real  heir  was  Bri- 
tannicus,  the  son  of  Claudius. 

Nero   was   carefully  educated,   under  the  care  of   the 


218 


philosopher  Seneca,  and  Bur'rhus,  the  chief  of  the  pre- 
torian  guard.  Both  of  these  men  were  devoted  to  Agrip- 
pina,  and  by  her  orders  they  bestowed  all  their  care  upon 
Nero,  while  Britannicus  was  neglected  and  set  aside.  Then 
as  soon  as  Nero  was  old  enough,  Agrippina  persuaded 
Claudius  to  give  him  the  princess  Octavia  as  a  wife. 

Narcissus  had  seen  all  these  changes  with  great  dis- 
pleasure, and  tried  to  find  some  way  of  getting  rid  of  the 
empress.  Agrippina,  however,  guessed  his  plans,  and 
persuaded  Claudius  to  send  him  away.  Then,  when  there 
seemed  to  be  no  danger  that  any  one  would  try  to  inter- 
fere with  her,  she  sent  for  Lo-cus'ta,  a  woman  who  knew 
how  to  mix  poison,  and  bought  a  dose  from  her. 

The  poison  thus  obtained  was  put  in  a  dish  of  mush- 
rooms, and  served  at  the  emperor's  private  table.  Clau- 
dius, who  was  very  fond  of  mushrooms,  ate  freely  of  this 
dish,  and  a  few  hours  later  he  died  in  great  agony. 


:>XK< 


LXXVII.     NERO'S   FIRST   CRIMES. 

CLAUDIUS  was  dead,  but  the  fact  was  at  first  made 
known  only  to  a  few  faithful  servants.  Then 
Agrippina  arranged  that  Britannicus,  the  real  heir  of  the 
empire,  should  be  kept  out  of  sight,  until  her  own  son 
Nero  had  been  set  upon  the  vacant  throne. 

The  senate  and  people  made  no  objection  to  her  choice, 
and  everybody  hoped  that  Nero  would  rule  very  wisely, 
because  he  was  a  grandson  of  Germanicus,  and  was  ad- 
vised by  Seneca  and  Burrhus,  who  were  both  very  able 
and  upright  men. 


219 

Because  they  were  honest,  these  men  first  of  all  told 
Nero  that  he  had  better  send  his  mother  away  from  court, 
where  her  influence  could  do  no  good.  Nero  followed 
this  advice,  and  during  the  first  months  of  his  reign  he 
was  generous,  clement,  and  humane.  We  are  told  that 
when  he  was  first  asked  to  sign  the  death  warrant  of 
a  criminal,  he  did  so  regretfully,  and  exclaimed :  "  Oh  ! 
I  wish  I  did  not  know  how  to  write !  " 

Nero  was  only  about  seventeen  years  of  age  when  he 
began  his  reign.  He  was  handsome,  well  educated,  and 
pleasant-mannered,  but  unfortunately  he,  too,  was  a  hypo- 
crite. Although  he  pretended  to  admire  all  that  was  good, 
he  was  in  reality  very  wicked. 

His  mother,  Agrippina,  had  set  him  on  the  throne  only 
that  she  herself  might  reign ;  and  she  was  very  angry  at 
being  sent  away  from  court.  However,  she  did  not  give 
up  all  hopes  of  ruling,  but  made  several  attempts  to  win 
her  son's  confidence  once  more,  and  to  get  back  her  place 
at  court.  Seeing  that  coaxing  had  no  effect,  she  soon 
tried  bolder  means.  One  day  she  entered  the  hall  where 
Nero  was  talking  with  some  ambassadors,  and  tried  to 
take  a  place  by  his  side. 

Nero  saw  her  come  in,  and  guessed  what  she  intended 
to  do.  He  rushed  forward  with  exaggerated  politeness, 
took  her  gently  by  the  hand,  and  solemnly  led  her,  —  not 
to  a  seat  of  honor  by  his  side,  but  to  a  quiet  corner,  where 
she  could  see  all,  but  where  she  would  hardly  be  seen. 

Agrippina  was  so  angry  at  being  thus  set  aside  that 
she  began  to  plan  to  dethrone  Nero  and  give  the  crown 
to  Britannicus  instead.  This  plot,  however,  was  revealed 
to  the  young  emperor.     As  soon  as  he  heard  it,  he  sent 


220 


for  Locusta,  and  made  her  prepare  a  deadly  poison,  which 
he  tested  upon  animals  to  make  sure  of  its  effect. 

When  quite  satisfied  that  the  poison  would  kill  any  one 
who  took  it,  Nero  invited  his  stepbrother  to  his  own  table, 
and  cleverly  poisoned  him.  Although  Britannicus  died 
there,  before  his  eyes,  the  emperor  showed  no  emotion 
whatever;  but  later  on  he  saw  that  the  people  mourned 
the  young  victim,  and  then  he  pretended  to  weep,  too.  . 

His  wife,  Octavia,  the  gentle  sister  of  Britannicus,  was 
sent  away  soon  after,  and  in  her  place  Nero  chose  Pop- 
pae'a,  a  woman  who  was  as  wicked  as  Messalina  or  Agrip- 
pina.  This  woman  gave  him  nothing  but  bad  advice, 
which  he  was  now  only  too  glad  to  follow. 

Having  killed  his  brother,  Nero  next  began  to  plan 
how  he  might  kill  his  mother.  He  did  not  wish  to  poison 
Agrippina,  so  he  had  a  galley  built  in  such  a  way  that  it 
could  suddenly  be  made  to  fall  apart. 

As  soon  as  this  ship  was  ready,  he  asked  his  mother  to 
come  and  visit  him.  Then,  after  treating  her  with  pre- 
tended affection,  he  sent  her  home  on  the  treacherous 
galley.  As  soon  as  it  was  far  enough  from  the  shore,  the 
bolts  were  loosened,  and  the  ship  parted,  hurling  Agrip- 
pina and  her  attendants  into  the  sea. 

One  of  the  queen's  women  swam  ashore,  and  cried  out 
that  she  was  Agrippina,  in  order  to  secure  prompt  aid 
from  some  men  who  stood  there.  Instead  of  helping  her, 
the  men  thrust  her  back  into  the  water,  and  held  her 
under  until  she  was  drowned ;  for  they  had  been  sent 
there  by  Nero  to  make  sure  that  no  one  escaped. 

The  real  Agrippina,  seeing  this,  pretended  to  be  only 
a  waiting  maid,   and  came  ashore    safely.      The   young 


221 


emperor  was  at  table  when  the  news  of  his  mother's 
escape  was  brought  to  him.  He  flew  into  a  passion  on 
hearing  that  his  plans  had  failed,  and  at  once  sent  a  slave 
to  finish  the  work  that  had  been  begun. 

In  obedience  to  this  cruel  order,  the  slave  forced  his 
way  into  Agrippina's  room.  When  she  saw  him  coming 
with  drawn  sword,  she  bared  her  breast  and  cried  :  "  Strike 
here  where  Nero's  head  once  rested  !  "  The  slave  obeyed, 
and  Nero  was  soon  told  that  his  mother  was  dead. 


-x>XK< 


LXXVIII.     THE   CHRISTIANS    PERSECUTED. 

AT  first,  Nero  was  rather  frightened  at  his  own  crimes. 
The  Romans,  however,  did  not  resent  the  murder  of 
Agrippina,  but  gave  public  thanks  because  the  emperor's 
life  had  been  spared ;  and  when  Nero  heard  of  this  he  was 
.quite  reassured.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  gentle  Octavia 
died  too,  and  then  Nero  launched  forth  into  a  career  of  ex- 
travagance as  wild  as  that  of  Caligula. 

Always  fond  of  gladiatorial  combats  and  games  of  all 
kinds,  Nero  himself  took  part  in  the  public  chariot  races. 
Then,  too,  although  he  had  a  very  poor  voice,  he  liked  to 
go  on  the  stage  and  perform  and  sing  before  his  courtiers, 
who  told  him  that  he  was  a  great  actor  and  a  very  fine 
singer. 

Encouraged  by  these  flatterers,  Nero  grew  more  con- 
ceited and  more  wild.  To  win  his  favor,  many  great 
people  followed  his  example ;  and  noble  ladies  soon  ap- 
peared on  the  stage,  where  they  sought  the  applause  of 
the  worst  class  in  Rome. 


222 


The  poor  people  were  admitted  free  of  charge  at  these 
games,  provided  that  they  loudly  applauded  Nero  and  his 
favorites.  As  they  could  not  attend  to  their  work,  owing 
to  the  many  festivities,  the  emperor  ordered  that  they 
should  be  fed  at  the  expense  of  the  state ;  and  he  made 
lavish  gifts  of  grain. 

A  comet  having  appeared  at  this  time,  some  of  the  su- 
perstitious Romans  ventured  to  suggest  that  it  was  a  sign 
of  a  new  reign.  These  words  were  repeated  to  Nero,  and 
displeased  him  greatly  ;  so  he  ordered  that  all  the  people 
who  spoke  of  it  should  be  put  to  death,  and  that  their 
property  should  be  confiscated  for  his  use. 

Some  of  these  unfortunate  Romans  took  their  own  lives 
in  order  to  escape  the  tortures  which  awaited  them.  There 
were  others  whom  the  emperor  did  not  dare  to  arrest 
openly,  lest  the  people  should  rise  up  against  him ;  and 
these  received  secret  orders  to  open  their  veins  in  a  bath 
of  hot  water,  and  thus  bleed  to  death. 

For  the  sake  of  the  excitement,  Nero  used  to  put  on  a 
disguise  and  go  out  on  the  highways  to  rob  and  murder 
travelers.  On  one  occasion  he  attacked  a  senator,  who, 
failing  to  recognize  him,  struck  him  a  hard  blow.  The 
very  next  day  the  senator  found  out  who  the  robber  was, 
and,  hoping  to  disarm  Nero's  rage,  went  up  to  the  palace 
and  humbly  begged  his  pardon  for  striking  him. 

Nero  listened  to  the  apologies  in  haughty  silence,  and 
then  exclaimed :  "  What,  wretch,  you  have  struck  Nero, 
and  are  still  alive  ? "  And,  although  he  did  not  kill  the 
senator  then  and  there,  he  nevertheless  gave  the  man  strict 
orders  to  kill  himself ;  and  the  poor  senator  did  not  dare 
to  disobey. 


223 

Nero  had  received  a  very  good  education,  and  so  he  was 
familiar  with  the  great  poem  of  Ho'mer  which  tells  about 
the  war  of  Troy.  He  wished  to  enjoy  the  sight  of  a  fire, 
such  as  Homer  describes  when  the  Greeks  became  masters 
of  that  city.  He  therefore,  it  is  said,  gave  orders  that 
Rome  should  be  set  afire,  and  sat  up  on  his  palace  tower, 
watching  the  destruction,  and  singing  the  verses  about  the 
fall  of  Troy,  while  he  accompanied  himself  on  his  lyre. 

A  great  part  of  the  city  was  thus  destroyed,  many  lives 
were  lost,  and  countless  people  were  made  poor ;  but  the 
sufferings  of  others  did  not  trouble  the  monster  Nero, 
who  delighted  in  seeing  misery  of  every  kind. 

Ever  since  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord,  during  the  reign 
of  Tiberius,  the  apostles  had  been  busy  preaching  the 
gospel.  Peter  and  Paul  had  even  visited  Rome,  and 
talked  to  so  many  people  that^  there  were  by  this  time 
a  large  number  of  Roman  Christians. 

The  Christians,  who  had  been  taught  to  love  one  an- 
other, and  to  be  good,  could  not  of  course  approve  of  the 
wicked  Nero's  conduct.  They  boldly  reproved  him  for  his 
vices,  and  Nero  soon  took  his  revenge  by  accusing  them 
of  having  set  fire  to  Rome,  and  by  having  them  seized  and 
tortured  in  many  ways. 

Some  of  these  Christians  were  beheaded,  some  were 
exposed  to  the  wild  beasts  of  the  circus,  and  some  were 
wrapped  up  in  materials  which  would  easily  catch  fire,  set 
upon  poles,  and  used  as  living  torches  for  the  emperor's 
games.  Others  were  plunged  in  kettles  of  boiling  oil  or 
water,  or  hunted  like  wild  beasts. 

All  of  them,  however,  died  with  great  courage,  boldly 
confessing  their  faith  in  Christ;    and  because  they  suf- 


(224) 


225 

fered  death  for  their  religion,  they  have  ever  since  been 
known  as  Mar'tyrs.  During  this  first  Roman  persecution, 
St.  Paul  was  beheaded,  and  St.  Peter  was  crucified.  St. 
Peter  was  placed  on  the  cross  head  downward,  at  his  own 
request,  because  he  did  not  consider  himself  worthy  to  die 
as  his  beloved  Master  had  died. 


>xx< 


LXXIX.     NERO'S    CRUELTY. 

AS  Rome  had  been  partly  destroyed,  Nero  now  began 
to  rebuild  it  with  great  magnificence.  He  also 
built  a  palace  for  his  own  use,  which  was  known  as  the 
Golden  Palace,  because  it  glittered  without  and  within 
with  this  precious  metal. 

Nero  was  guilty  of  many  follies,  such  as  worshiping  a 
favorite  monkey,  fishing  with  a  golden  net,  and  spending 
large  sums  in  gifts  to  undeserving  courtiers ;  and  he  is 
said  never  to  have  worn  the  same  garment  twice. 

Of  course  so  cruel  and  capricious  a  ruler  as  Nero 
could  not  be  loved,  and  you  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
that  many  Romans  found  his  rule  unbearable,  and  formed 
a  conspiracy  to  kill  him.  A  woman  named  E-pich'a-ris 
took  part  in  the  plot ;  but  one  of  the  men  whom  she  asked 
to  help  her  proved  to  be  a  traitor. 

Instead  of  keeping  the  secret,  this  man  hastened  to 
Nero  and  told  him  that  Epicharis  knew  the  names  of  all 
the  conspirators.  So  the  emperor  had  her  seized  and 
cruelly  tortured,  but  she  refused  to  speak  a  word,  although 
she  suffered  untold  agonies.    Then,  fearing  that  she  would 

STO.  OF   ROM.  —  15 


226 


betray  her  friends  when  too  long  suffering  had  exhausted 
her  courage,  Epicharis  strangled  herself  with  her  own 
girdle. 

As  Nero  could  not  discover  the  names  of  the  conspira- 
tors, he  condemned  all  the  Romans  whom  he  suspected  of 
having  been  in  the  secret,  and  forced  them  to  kill  them- 
selves. Even  his  tutor  Seneca  obeyed  when  ordered  to 
open  his  veins  in  a  warm  bath ;  and  he  died  while  dictat- 
ing some  of  his  thoughts  to  his  secretary. 

The  poet  Lu'can  died  in  the  same  way,  and  as  long  as 
his  strength  lasted  he  recited  some  of  his  own  fine  poetry. 
We  are  told  that  the  wife  of  one  victim  of  Nero's  anger 
tried  to  die  with  her  husband,  but  that  Nero  forbade  her 
doing  so,  had  her  wounds  bound  up,  and  forced  her  to  live. 

Nero  was  so  brutal  that  he  killed  his  own  wife  Poppaea 
by  kicking  her,  and  so  inconsistent  that  he  had  her  buried 
with  great  pomp,  built  temples  in  her  honor,  and  forced 
the  Romans  to  worship  her. 

As  Nero's  crimes  were  daily  increasing  in  number,  a 
new  conspiracy  was  soon  formed  against  him.  This 
time,  his  soldiers  revolted.  The  legions  in  Spain  elected 
their  general,  Gal'ba,  as  emperor,  and  marched  toward 
Rome  to  rid  the  world  of  the  tyrant  Nero. 

The  emperor  was  feasting  when  the  news  of  Galba's 
approach  reached  him.  He  was  so  frightened  that  he 
fled  in  haste,  carrying  with  him  a  little  box  which  con- 
tained some  of  Locusta's  poisonous  drugs.  He  rushed 
from  door  to  door,  seeking  an  asylum,  which  was  every- 
where denied  him ;  but  finally  one  of  his  freedmen  led 
him  to  a  miserable  little  hut,  where  he  was  soon  followed 
by  his  pursuers. 


227 

When  Nero  heard  his  enemies  coming,  he  realized  that 
he  could  not  escape  death,  and  sadly  exclaimed :  "  What 
a  pity  that  such  a  fine  musician  should  perish !  "  Then 
he  made  a  vain  attempt  to  cut  his  own  throat,  and,  had 
not  his  freedman  helped  him,  he  would  have  fallen  alive 
into  Galba's  hands. 

Nero  was  only  a  little  over  thirty  when  he  died;  and 
he  had  reigned  about  fourteen  years.  He  was  the  last 
Roman  emperor  who  was  related  to  Augustus,  the  wise 
ruler  who  had  done  so  much  to  further  the  prosperity 
of  Rome. 


**:< 


LXXX.     TWO    SHORT   REIGNS. 

GALBA,  the  new  emperor,  was  more  than  seventy 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  election ;  and  he  soon 
discovered  that  he  could  not  do  all  that  he  wished.  He 
tried  very  hard  to  curb  the  insolence  of  the  soldiers,  to 
punish  vice,  and  to  fill  the  empty  state  treasury ;  but  he 
was  not  able  to  accomplish  any  of  these  ends. 

He  had  several  favorites,  and  according  to  their  advice 
he  was  either  too  severe  or  too  lenient.  His  lack  of 
firmness  soon  gave  rise  to  discontent  and  revolts.  As  he 
had  no  son  to  succeed  him,  Galba  wished  to  adopt  a  fine 
young  man  named  Piso  Li-cin-i-a'nus,  but  the  senate  and 
soldiers  did  not  approve  of  this  choice. 

O'tho,  a  favorite  of  Galba,  had  hoped  to  be  adopted 
as  heir ;  but  when  he  saw  that  another  would  be  selected, 
he  bribed  the  soldiers  to  uphold  him,  with  money  which 


228 


he  stole  from  Galba's  treasury.  The  mob  believed  all 
that  Otho  told  them,  and  declared  that  he  should  be 
emperor  in  Galba's  stead. 

Rushing  off  to  the  Forum,  they  met  the  emperor,  and 
struck  off  his  head.  This  was  then  placed  on  a  lance, 
and  carried  around  the  camp  in  triumph,  while  the  de- 
serted body  was  carried  away  and  buried  by  a  faithful 
slave. 

After  a  very  brief  reign,  Otho  heard  that  the  Roman 
legions  on  the  Rhine  had  elected  their  commander  Vi- 
tel'li-us  as  emperor,  and  were  coming  to  attack  him.  He 
bravely  hastened  northward  to  meet  them,  and  in  the 
first  encounters  his  army  had  the  advantage. 

In  the  great  battle  at  Be-dri'a-cum,  however,  his  troops 
were  completely  defeated,  and  two  days  later  Otho  killed 
himself  to  avoid  falling  into  the  enemy's  hands.  Soon 
Vitellius  entered  Rome  as  emperor,  and  as  the  successor 
of  Galba  and  Otho,  whose  combined  reigns  had  not  lasted 
even  one  year. 


LXXXI.     THE  SIEGE  OF  JERUSALEM. 

THE  new  emperor,  Vitellius,  was  not  cruel  like  Tiberius, 
Caligula,  and  Nero,  nor  imbecile  like  Claudius,  nor  a 
victim  of  his  favorites  like  Galba ;  but  he  had  a  fault  that 
was  as  disastrous  as  any.  This  was  gluttony.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  so  greedy  that  even  now,  over  eighteen 
hundred  years  after  he  died,  his  name  is  still  used  as 
a  byword. 


229 

All  his  thoughts  were  about  eating  and  drinking.  He 
lived  in  great  luxury  at  home  ;  but  he  often  invited  himself 
out  to  dinner,  breakfast,  or  supper,  at  the  house  of  one  of 
his  courtiers,  where  he  expected  to  be  treated  to  the  most 
exquisite  viands. 

Such  was  his  love  of  eating,  it  is  said,  that  when  he  had 
finished  one  good  meal,  he  would  take  an  emetic,  so  that 
he  might  begin  at  once  on  the  next ;  and  thus  he  was  able 
to  enjoy  four  dinners  a  day  instead  of  one.  This  disgust- 
ing gluttony  became  so  well  known  that  many  Romans 
made  up  their  minds  not  to  obey  any  longer  a  man  whose 
habits  were  those  of  the  meanest  animals. 

They  therefore  determined  to  select  as  emperor  the  gen- 
eral Ves-pa'sian,  who  had  won  many  victories  during  the 
reigns  of  Claudius,  Nero,  Galba,  and  Otho,  and  who  was 
now  besieging  Jerusalem.  In  obedience  to  the  soldiers' 
wishes  Vespasian  left  his  son  Ti'tus  to  finish  the  siege, 
and  sent  an  army  toward  Rome,  which  met  and  defeated 
the  forces  of  Vitellius. 

The  greedy  emperor  cared  little  for  the  imperial  title, 
and  now  offered  to  give  it  up,  on  condition  that  he  should 
be  allowed  a  sum  of  money  large  enough  to  enable  him  to 
end  his  life  in  luxury.  When  this  was  refused  him,  he 
made  a  feeble  effort  to  defend  himself  in  Rome. 

Vespasian's  army,  however,  soon  forced  its  way  into  the 
city.  Vitellius  tried  first  to  flee,  and  then  to  hide  ;  but  he 
was  soon  found  and  killed  by  the  soldiers,  who  dragged  his 
body  through  the  streets,  and  then  flung  it  into  the  Tiber. 

The  senate  now  confirmed  the  army's  choice,  and  Ves- 
pasian became  emperor  of  Rome.  Although  he  had  been 
wild  in  his  youth,  Vespasian  now  gave  the  best  example 


230 


to  his  people  ;  for  he  spent  all  his  time  in  thinking  of  their 
welfare,  and  in  trying  to  improve  Rome.  He  also  began 
to  build  the  Col-i-se'um,  the  immense  circus  whose  ruins 
can  still  be  seen,  and  where  there  were  seats  for  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  spectators. 

While  Vespasian  was  thus  occupied  at  home,  his  son 
Titus  had  taken  command  of  the  army  which  was  besieging 
the    city  of   Jerusalem.      As   the    prophets    had   foretold, 


The  Coliseum. 


these  were  terrible  times  for  the  Jews.  There  were  famines 
and  earthquakes,  and  strange  signs  were  seen  in  the  sky. 

In  spite  of  all  these  signs,  Titus  battered  down  the 
heavy  walls,  scaled  the  ramparts,  and  finally  took  the  city, 
where  famine  and  pestilence  now  reigned.  The  Roman 
soldiers  robbed  the  houses,  and  then  set  fire  to  them.  The 
flames  thus  started  soon  reached  the  beautiful  temple 
built  by  Herod,  and  in  spite  of  all  that  Titus  could  do  to 
save  it,  this  great  building  was  burned  to  the  ground. 

Amid  the  lamentations  of  the  Jews,  the  walls  of  the  city 


231 

were  razed  and  the  site  plowed ;  and  soon,  as  Christ  had 
foretold,  not  one  stone  remained  upon  another.  Nearly 
one  million  Jews  are  said  to  have  perished  during  this 
awful  siege,  and  the  Romans  led  away  one  hundred  thou- 
sand captives. 

On  his  return  to  Rome,  Titus  was  honored  by  a  triumph. 
The  books  of  the  law  and  the  famous  golden  candlestick, 
which  had  been  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  were  carried 
as  trophies  in  the  procession.  The  Romans  also  com- 
memorated their  victory  by  erecting  the  Arch  of  Titus, 
which  is  still  standing.  The  carving  on  this  arch  repre- 
sents the  Roman  soldiers  carrying  the  booty,  and  you  will 
see  there  a  picture  of  the  seven-branched  candlestick  which 
they  brought  home. 

Vespasian  reigned  ten  years  and  was  beloved  by  all  his 
subjects.  He  was  taken  ill  at  his  country  house,  and  died 
there.  Even  when  the  end  was  near,  and  he  was  too 
weak  to  stand,  he  bade  his  attendants  help  him  to  his  feet, 
saying,  "An  emperor  should  die  standing." 


>X*c 


LXXXII.     THE   BURIED    CITIES. 

TITUS,  the  son  of  Vespasian,  was  joyfully  received  as 
his  successor,  and  became  one  of  the  best  rulers  that 
Rome  had  ever  seen.  He  was  as  good  as  he  was  brave; 
and,  although  he  was  not  a  Christian,  he  is  known  as  one 
of  the  best  men  that  ever  lived,  and  could  serve  as  an 
example  for  many  people  now. 

He  soon  won  the  hearts  of  all  his  people,  and  he  fully 


B 

o 


(232) 


233 

deserved  the  title  which  they  gave  him,  "  Delight  of  Man- 
kind." True  and  just,  Titus  punished  informers,  false 
witnesses,  and  criminals,  and  made  examples  of  all  sinful 
people.  But  he  was  very  generous,  too,  and  very  cour- 
teous and  ready  to  do  good.  Whenever  a  whole  day 
passed  without  his  being  able  to  help  any  one,  he  would 
exclaim  with  regret,  "  Alas,  I  have  lost  a  day !  " 

It  was  fortunate  that  the  Romans  had  so  good  an 
emperor  at  that  time,  for  a  very  great  calamity  happened, 
which  filled  the  hearts  of  all  with  horror. 

You  may  remember  that  Spartacus  and  the  revolted 
slaves  fled  at  first  to  a  mountain  called  Mount  Vesuvius. 
Well,  in  those  days  this  mountain  was  covered  with  ver- 
dure, and  near  its  foot  were  the  two  rich  and  flourish- 
ing cities  of  Pom-pe'ii  and  Herculaneum.  The  people 
felt  no  fear  of  the  mountain,  because  it  was  not  then,  as 
now,  an  active  volcano. 

But  one  day  they  began  to  feel  earthquakes,  the  air  grew 
hot  and  very  sultry,  smoke  began  to  come  out  of  the  cra- 
ter, and  all  at  once,  with  an  awful  noise,  a  terrible  eruption 
took  place.  Red-hot  rocks  were  shot  far  up  into  the  air 
with  frightful  force ;  great  rivers  of  burning  lava  flowed 
like  torrents  down  the  mountain  side ;  and,  before  the 
people  could  escape,  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum  were  bur- 
ied under  many  feet  of  ashes  and  lava. 

Thousands  of  people  died,  countless  homes  were  burned 
or  buried,  and  much  land  which  had  formerly  been  very 
fertile  was  made  barren  and  unproductive.  Plin'y,  the 
naturalist,  had  been  told  of  the  strange,  rumbling  sounds 
which  were  heard  in  Vesuvius,  and  had  journeyed  thither 
from  Rome  to  investigate  the  matter.     He  was  on  a  ship 


234 

at  the  time,  but  when  he  saw  the  smoke  he  went  ashore 
near  the  mountain,  and  before  long  was  smothered  in  the 
foul  air. 

Sixteen  hundred  years  after  the  two  cities  were  buried, 
an  Italian  began  to  dig  a  well  in  the  place  where  Pompeii 
had  once  stood.  After  digging  down  to  a  depth  of  forty 
feet,  he  came  across  one  of  the  old  houses  in  a  remarkable 
state  of  preservation. 

Since  then,  the  ruins  have  been  partly  dug  out,  and 
many  treasures  have  been  found  there  buried  under  the 
soil.  The  ruins  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum  are  visited 
every  year  by  many  travelers  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
They  go  there  to  see  how  people  lived  in  the  days  of  the 
Roman  emperors,  and  to  admire  the  fragments  of  beauti- 
ful paintings,  the  statues,  pottery,  etc.,  which  have  been 
found  there. 

Most  of  the  large  houses  in  Pompeii  had  a  central  court 
or  hall,  in  which  was  a  large  tank  of  fresh  water.  This 
was  the  coolest  place  in  the  house,  and  the  children  had 
great  fun  playing  around  the  water  and  plunging  in  it. 

When  Pompeii  was  destroyed  all  Italy  was  saddened  by 
the  terrible  catastrophe,  but  the  Romans  soon  had  cause 
to  rejoice  once  more  at  the  news  of  victories  won  abroad. 
A  revolt  in  Britain  was  put  down,  and  the  people  there 
soon  learned  to  imitate  their  conquerors,  and  to  build  fine 
houses  and  solid  roads. 

The  good  emperor  Titus  died  of  a  fever  after  a  reign  of 
about  two  years.  His  death  was  mourned  by  all  his  peo- 
ple, who  felt  that  they  would  never  have  so  good  a  friend 
again. 


235 


LXXXIII.     THE   TERRIBLE    BANQUET. 

TITUS  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Do-mi'tian,  who 
began  his  reign  in  a  most  praiseworthy  way.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  Domitian  was  a  gambler  and  a  lover  of 
pleasure.  He  was  lazy,  too,  and  soon  banished  all  the 
philosophers  and  mathematicians  from  Rome,  saying  that 
he  had  no  use  for  such  tiresome  people. 

No  other  emperor  ever  gave  the  people  so  many  public 
shows.  Domitian  delighted  in  the  circus,  in  races  of  all 
kinds,  and  in  all  athletic  games  and  tests  of  skill.  He 
was  a  good  marksman  and  a  clever  archer.  Such  was 
his  pride  in  his  skill  that  he  often  forced  a  slave  to  stand 
up  before  him,  at  a  certain  distance,  and  then  shot  arrows 
between  the  fingers  of  his  outspread  hand.  Of  course 
this  was  very  cruel,  because  if  the  emperor  missed  his  aim, 
or  if  the  man  winced,  it  meant  either  maiming  or  death  to 
the  poor  slave. 

Domitian,  however,  was  cruel  in  many  things  besides 
sport,  and  delighted  in  killing  everything  he  could  lay 
hands  on.  We  are  told  that  he  never  entered  a  room  with- 
out catching,  torturing,  and  killing  every  fly.  One  day  a 
slave  was  asked  whether  the  emperor  were  alone,  and  he 
answered  :  "  Yes  ;   there  is  not  even  a  fly  with  him  !  " 

Domitian's  cruelty  and  vices  increased  with  every  day 
of  his  reign,  and  so  did  his  vanity.  As  he  wished  to  enjoy 
the  honors  of  a  triumph,  he  made  an  excursion  into  Ger- 
many, and  came  back  to  Rome,  bringing  his  own  slaves 
dressed  to  represent  captives. 

Jealous  of  the  fame  of  A-gric'o-la,  the  general  who  had 


236 

subdued  Britain,  Dcmitian  summoned  him  home,  under 
the  pretext  of  rewarding  him.  While  Agricola  was  in 
Rome,  the  northern  barbarians  made  several  invasions, 
and  the  King  of  the  Da'cians  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  on 
the  Roman  legion. 

So  great,  however,  was  the  emperor's  jealousy  of  his 
best  general,  that  he  made  Agricola  stay  at  home  rather 
than  let  him  win  any  more  victories.  Before  many  years, 
too,  this  great  general  was  found  dead,  and  no  one  knew 
the  cause  of  his  death;  so  the  Romans  all  believed  that 
Domitian  had  hired  some  one  to  murder  him. 

As  Domitian  was  not  brave  enough  to  fight  the  Dacians 
himself,  he  bribed  them  to  return  home.  Then,  coming 
back  to  Rome,  he  had  a  triumph  awarded  him  just  as  if 
he  had  won  a  great  victory.  Not  content  with  these 
honors,  he  soon  ordered  that  the  Romans  should  worship 
him  as  a  god,  and  had  gold  and  silver  statues  of  himself 
set  up  in  the  temples. 

Domitian  was  never  so  happy  as  when  he  could  frighten 
people,  or  cause  them  pain.  You  will  therefore  not  be 
surprised  to  hear  about  the  strange  banquet,  or  dinner 
party,  to  which  he  once  invited  his  friends. 

When  the  guests  arrived  at  the  palace,  they  were  led  to 
a  room  all  hung  in  black.  Here  they  were  waited  upon 
by  tiny  servants  with  coal-black  faces,  hands,  and  gar- 
ments. The  couches,  too,  were  spread  with  black,  and 
before  each  guest  was  a  small  black  column,  looking  like 
a  monument,  and  bearing  his  name.  The  guests  were 
waited  upon  in  silence,  and  given  nothing  but  "funeral 
baked  meats,"  while  mournful  music,  which  sounded 
like  a  wail,  constantly  fell  upon  their  ears. 


237 

Knowing  how  cruel  and  capricious  Domitian  could  be, 
the  guests  fancied  that  their  last  hour  had  come,  and  that 
they  would  leave  the  banquet  hall  only  to  be  handed  over 
to  the  executioner's  hands.  Imagine  their  relief,  therefore, 
when  they  were  allowed  to  depart  unharmed! 

On  the  next  day,  the  children  who  had  waited  upon 
them  at  table,  and  whose  faces  and  hands  had  been 
blackened  only  for  that  occasion,  came  to  bring  them 
the  little  columns  on  which  their  names  were  inscribed. 
These,  too,  had  lost  their  funeral  hue,  and  the  guests 
could  now  see  that  they  were  made  of  pure  gold. 


=>:*;< 


LXXXIV.  THE  EMPEROR'S  TABLETS. 

SOME  of  the  Roman  legions,  displeased  at  having  so 
unworthy  an  emperor,  revolted  under  their  general 
An-tx/ni-us.  As  he  failed  to  please  them,  however,  they 
did  not  fight  very  bravely  for  him,  and  his  troops  were 
completely  defeated  the  first  time  they  met  the  legions 
which  still  remained  faithful  to  Domitian. 

Although  the  soldiers  had  failed  to  get  rid  of  Domitian, 
the  cruel  reign  of  that  emperor  was  soon  ended.  He  had 
married  a  wife  by  force,  and  she  was  known  by  the  name 
of  Do-mi'tia.  Of  course  she  could  not  love  a  husband 
who  had  taken  her  against  her  will.  Domitian  therefore 
grew  tired  of  her,  and  wrote  her  name  down  upon  the 
tablets  where  he  was  wont  to  place  the  names  of  the 
next  persons  to  be  slain. 

Domitia  found  these   tablets.     Seeing   her   own  name 


238 

among  several  others,  she  carried  the  list  to  two  preto- 
rian  guards  who  were  to  die  also,  and  induced  them  to 
murder  Domitian.  Under  the  pretext  of  revealing  a 
conspiracy  against  him,  these  men  sent  a  freedman  into 
the  imperial  chamber. 

While  Domitian  was  eagerly  reading  a  paper  upon 
which  the  names  of  the  conspirators  were  written,  this 
freedman  suddenly  drew  out  a  dagger,  which  he  had 
hidden  beneath  his  robe,  and  dealt  the  emperor  a  mortal 
wound. 

Domitian  fell,  loudly  calling  for  help.  The  pretorian 
guard  rushed  in  at  this  sound,  but,  instead  of  killing  the 
freedman,  they  helped  him  dispatch  their  master,  who  had 
reigned  about  fifteen  years,  but  had  not  made  a  single 
friend. 

The  Romans  related  that  signs  and  prodigies  foretold 
the  emperor's  death,  and  that  an  astrologer  at  Eph'e-sus 
saw  the  crime  reflected  in  the  skies  at  the  very  moment 
when  it  happened. 

Under  Domitian's  reign  there  was  another  terrible  per- 
secution of  the  Christians,  and  John,  a  disciple  of  our  Lord, 
was  banished  to  the  island  of  Pat'mos,  where  he  wrote 
Revelation,  the  last  book  of  the  New  Testament.  Al- 
though John  escaped  on  this  occasion,  he  later  became  a 
martyr,  for  he  was  tortured  by  being  plunged  into  boil- 
ing oil. 

It  is  said,  however,  in  some  stories,  that  John  did  not 
die  in  the  boiling  oil,  but  lived  to  be  a  very  old  man.  On 
the  spot  where  he  is  said  to  have  suffered  there  is  now  a 
chapel  which  bears  his  name. 


239 


LXXXV.     THE   GOOD   TRAJAN. 

THE  wicked  Domitian  was  succeeded  by  Ner'va,  a  good, 
wise,  and  generous  old  man,  who  did  all  he  could 
to  repair  the  wrong  which  Domitian  had  done,  and  to 
induce  the  Romans  to  lead  better  lives. 

Unfortunately,  however,  Nerva  was  too  old  to  reign 
long,  and  after  two  years  he  felt  that  his  death  was  near. 
As  he  knew  that  the  Romans  would  be  happier  in  the 
hands  of  a  good  man,  he  chose  Tra'jan  to  be  his  suc- 
cessor. 

This  Trajan  was  the  Roman  general  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  troops  in  Germany.  He  had  recently  become 
the  adopted  son  of  Nerva,  but  he  had  staid  at  his  post, 
and  was  still  in  Germany  when  he  heard  that  Nerva  was 
dead,  and  that  he  was  now  emperor  in  his  turn. 

The  Romans  were  very  eager  to  have  Trajan  return, 
that  they  might  welcome  him  ;  but  the  new  emperor  knew 
that  duty  comes  before  pleasure,  so  he  remained  on  the 
frontier  until  the  barbarians  were  all  reduced  to  obedi- 
ence. 

Then,  only,  did  he  march  southward.  He  entered 
Rome  on  foot,  not  as  a  conqueror,  but  as  a  father  return- 
ing to  his  waiting  children.  The  people  cheered  him 
wildly,  and  all  approved  when  they  heard  him  say,  as  he 
handed  a  sword  to  the  chief  of  the  pretorian  guard,  "  Use 
this/<?r  me  if  I  do  my  duty ;  against  me  if  I  do  not." 

Trajan  was  so  gentle  and  affable  that  he  won  the  hearts 
of  all  the  people.  This  kindness  never  changed  as  long 
as  he  lived ;  and  it  won  for  him  the  title  "  Father  of  his 


240 

Country,"  which  has  never  been  given  to  any  except  the 
very  best  of  men. 

Ever  ready  to  make  his  people  happy  and  comfortable, 
Trajan  built  large  granaries  in  which  wheat  could  be 
stored  in  great  quantities.  This  grain  was  sold  to  the 
poor,  in  good  honest  measures,  at  the  lowest  possible  rate ; 
for  the  emperor  had  said  that  they  should  never  again  be 
at  the  mercy  of  the  rich,  who  had  sometimes  starved  the 
people  in  their  eagerness  to  get  more  money  for  their  grain. 

Trajan's  wife,  Plo-ti'na,  was  as  good  and  charitable  as 
he,  and  seconded  him  in  all  his  generous  plans.  She  was 
dearly  loved  by  all  the  Romans,  and  during  the  emperor's 
absence  she  always  looked  after  the  welfare  of  his  people. 


:>**< 


LXXXVI.     TRAJAN'S    COLUMN. 

YOU  remember,  do  you  not,  how  the  cowardly  Domi- 
tian  bought  peace  from  the  Dacians,  and  then  came 
back  to  Rome,  saying  that  he  had  conquered  them  ?  Well, 
this  peace  did  not  last  very  long,  and  during  the  reign  of 
Trajan  the  Dacians  again  began  to  make  raids  into  the 
Roman  territory. 

To  repulse  them,  the  emperor  himself  led  an  army  into 
their  country,  and^won  so  many  victories  that  they  begged 
for  peace.  Then,  on  his  return  to  Rome,  he  received  the 
honors  of  a  triumph,  and  the  surname  of  "  The  Dacian." 

In  the  very  next  year,  however,  the  war  broke  out 
again.  This  time  Trajan  kept  on  fighting  until  the 
Dacians  were  completely  conquered,  and  their  king  had 


241 


killed  himself  in  despair.  Then  all  Dacia  became  a 
Roman  province,  and  the  emperor  received  a  second  and 
much  more  magnificent  triumph. 

Shortly  after  this,  Trajan  was  forced  to  fight  the  Par- 
thians,  descendants  of  the  Persians  who  had  once  invaded 
Greece.  He  won  great  victories  over  them  also,  and 
added    a    large    province    called    Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a   to   the 


Trajan's  Column. 

Roman  Empire.  During  this  campaign,  he  visited  Bab'- 
y-lon,  which  was  rapidly  falling  into  ruins,  and  saw  the 
palace  where  Alexander-  the  Great  had  died  more  than 
four  hundred  years  before. 

To  commemorate  the  victories  of  Trajan,  a  column  was 
erected  in  Rome.  It  still  stands  there  perfectly  preserved, 
and  still  bears  the  name  of  the  good  emperor. 

STO.  OF  ROM*  —  1 6 


242 

While  Trajan  was  in  Asia,  he  was  taken  ill,  and  he  died 
before  he  could  reach  Rome,  although  his  dearest  wish 
had  been  to  breathe  his  last  among  his  own  people.  In 
memory  of  him,  the  city  where  he  died  was  named  Tra- 
jan-op'o-lis  ("  City  of  Trajan  "). 

You  will  doubtless  be  surprised  to  hear  that  this  em- 
peror, who  was  so  good  and  charitable  as  a  rule,  perse- 
cuted the  Christians  sorely.  Many  of  them  even  suffered 
martyrdom  by  his  order ;  but  this  was  because  he  believed 
that  they  were  wicked  and  perverse. 

Trajan,  it  is  said,  had  been  taught  by  Plu'tarch,  a  well- 
known  writer,  who  related  the  lives  of  prominent  men  in  a 
very  fascinating  way.  In  his  book  of  Lives,  which  has 
been  translated  into  English,  you  will  find  many  of  the 
stories  which  you  have  read  here,  for  Plutarch  wrote  about 
all  the  greatest  men  in  Roman  history.  He  also  compared 
them  with  the  great  men  of  Greece,  whose  lives  he  told  in 
the  same  volume. 

During  this  reign,  also,  lived  Tac'i-tus,  the  great  Roman 
historian,  Ju've-nal,  the  poet,  and  Pliny  the  Younger,  who 
wrote  a  famous  oration  in  praise  of  the  emperor.  This 
speech  has  been  preserved,  and  when  you  have  learned 
Latin,  you  will  read  it  with  great  interest. 

Such  was  the  respect  that  the  Romans  felt  for  Trajan 
that  during  the  next  two  hundred  years  the  senators  al- 
ways addressed  a  new  emperor  by  saying :  "  Reign  fortu- 
nately as  Augustus,  virtuously  as  Trajan !  "  Thus,  you 
see,  the  memory  of  a  man's  good  deeds  is  very  lasting ; 
even  now  Trajan's  name  is  honored,  and  people  still  praise 
him  for  the  good  he  did  while  he  was  emperor  of  Rome. 


243 


LXXXVII.     THE   GREAT   WALL. 

TRAJAN  was  succeeded  by  his  cousin  Ha'dri-an,  a 
.  good  and  true  man,  who  had  received  an  excellent 
education,  and  was  very  talented.  Hadrian  had  fought 
with  Trajan  in  most  of  his  campaigns,  and  gladly  accepted 
the  title  of  emperor,  which  the  legions  gave  him,  and 
which  was  confirmed  by  the  Roman  senate. 

The  first  act  of  the  new  emperor  was  to  reward  his  sol- 
diers for  their  devotion,  and  his  next,  to  pardon  all  who 
had  ever  injured  him.  Thus,  we  are  told  that  on  meet- 
ing an  enemy  he  said :  "  My  good  friend,  you  have  es- 
caped, for  I  am  made  emperor." 

Hadrian  was  very  affable,  and  always  ready  to  serve 
others.  When  asked  why  he,  an  emperor,  troubled  him- 
self thus  about  others,  he  replied :  "  I  have  been  made 
emperor  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  and  not  for  my  own 
good." 

Instead  of  continuing  to  enlarge  the  Roman  Empire,  as 
Trajan  had  done,  Hadrian  now  said  that  it  was  large 
enough ;  so  he  did  all  that  he  could  to  have  it  governed 
properly.  He  did  not  always  remain  at  Rome,  but  made  a 
grand  journey  through  all  his  vast  realm. 

Accompanied  by  able  men  of  every  kind,  he  first  visited 
Gaul,  Germany,  Holland,  and  Britain.  Everywhere  he 
went  he  inspected  the  buildings,  ordered  the  construction 
of  new  aqueducts,  temples,  etc.,  and  paid  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  training  of  his  armies.  He  shared  the  soldiers' 
fatigues,  marched  at  their  head  twenty  miles  a  day  in  the 
burning  sun,   and  lived    on   their   scanty  fare    of    bread, 


244 

lard,  and  sour  wine ;  so  none  of  his  men  ever  dared  com- 
plain. 

Wherever  he  went,  Hadrian  planned  great  improve- 
ments; and  in  Britain  he  built  a  rampart,  or  wall, 
seventy-three  miles  long,  to  protect  the  Britons  from  the 
barbarians  who  at  that  time  lived  in  Scotland.  Then, 
passing  through  the  western  part  of  Gaul,  Hadrian  went 
up  into  Spain,  and  from  thence  into  Africa. 

He  also  visited  the  East,  and  made  a  long  stay  in 
Athens,  where  he  took  part  for  the  first  time  in  a  religious 
ceremony  called  the  E-leu-sin'i-an  Mysteries.  During  his 
stay  there,  he  ordered  that  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  should 
be  finished,  and  heard  much  about  the  new  religion  which 
the  Christians  taught. 

Although  he  had  at  first  objected  greatly  to  the  Chris- 
tians, Hadrian  now  began  to  like  them,  and  even  proposed 
to  place  Christ  among  the  Roman  gods,  as  Tiberius  is  said 
to  have  done  many  years  before. 


>ttc 


LXXXVIII.     HADRIAN'S    DEATH. 

THE  emperor  Hadrian's  chief  delight  was  in  building. 
For  instance,  he  gave  orders  for  the  rebuilding  of 
Carthage,  and  when  he  visited  Egypt  he  had  Pompey's 
tomb  carefully  repaired. 

In  Palestine,  Hadrian  would  have  liked  to  rebuild  Jeru- 
salem. The  Jews  were  delighted  when  they  heard  this, 
because  the  Christians  had  declared  that  the  city  would 
never  rise  again.     Their  joy,  however,  did  not  last  long, 


245 


for  they  and  the  Romans  soon  began  a  terrible  quarrel 
which  ended  in  a  war.  More  than  five  hundred  thousand 
Jews  perished  in  the  struggle,  and  countless  Romans  and 
Christians  also  were  killed. 

After  making  two  journeys  to  visit  all  the  different  parts 
of  his  empire,  Hadrian  went  back  to  Rome,  where  he 
hoped  to  end  his  life  in  peace  among  learned  men,  and  in 


Tomb  of  Hadrian. 


devising  new  laws  and  erecting  new  buildings.  He  built 
a  palace  at  Ti'bur,  and  a  fine  tomb  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tiber.  This  tomb  was  long  known  as  "  Hadrian's  Mole," 
but  is  now  generally  called  the  "  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,"  on 
account  of  the  statue  of  the  angel  Michael  which  sur- 
mounts it. 


246 

Hadrian,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  gentle  and  forgiving 
during  the  first  part  of  his  reign ;  but  he  now  began  to 
suffer  from  a  disease  which  soon  made  him  cross  and 
suspicious.  He  therefore  became  very  cruel,  and,  forget- 
ting that  he  had  once  quite  approved  of  the  Christians, 
he  ordered  a  fourth  persecution,  in  which  many  were  put 
to  death. 

To  make  sure  that  the  Romans  would  be  governed  well 
after  his  death,  Hadrian  selected  as  his  successor  a  very 
good  and  wise  man  named  An-to-ni'nus.  Then,  feeling 
that  his  sufferings  were  more  than  he  could  bear,  he 
implored  his  servants  to  kill  him.  They  all  refused,  so 
he  sent  for  many  doctors,  and  took  all  the  medicines  they 
prescribed. 

This,  of  course,  somewhat  hastened  his  death ;  and  we 
are  told  that  he  spent  the  last  moments  of  his  life  in 
dictating  verses  addressed  to  his  soul.  These  are  well 
known,  and  perhaps  you  will  some  day  read  them  when 
you  learn  Latin,  the  language  in  which  they  were  written. 

Hadrian  was  buried  in  the  tomb  which  he  had  built  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber;  and,  when  you  go  to  Rome,  you 
will  surely  visit  this  building,  although  it  is  so  old  that 
many  changes  have  been  made  in  it  since  it  was  first 
finished. 

LXXXIX.     ANTONINUS   PIUS. 

WHEN   the  new  ruler  was  called  to  the  throne,  he 
received  the  surname  Pi'us,  because  he  had  been 
very  good  to  Hadrian  when  that  emperor  was  ill  and  would 


247 

fain  have  killed  himself.  Antoninus  had  no  ambition  to 
reign,  but  he  accepted  the  crown  because  it  had  been 
Hadrian's  wish  that  he  should  look  after  the  welfare  of 
the  Roman  people. 

One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  adopt  another  good  man, 
Mar'cus  Au-re'li-us,  as  his  successor,  and  to  show  clemency 
toward  a  few  of  the  senators  who  conspired  against  him. 
The  leaders  of  the  conspiracy,  fearing  his  wrath,  killed 
themselves  in  their  terror ;  but  Antoninus  would  not  allow 
any  inquiry  to  be  made  into  the  plot,  lest  he  should  hear 
that  there  were  other  Romans  who  hated  him. 

All  through  his  long  reign  of  more  than  twenty  years, 
his  gentleness  and  moderation  continued,  and  his  first  and 
constant  thought  was  the  good  of  his  people.  Once,  dur- 
ing a  famine,  he  was  stoned  by  some  of  the  most  ignorant 
Romans,  who  fancied  that  their  sufferings  were  his  fault. 
But,  instead  of  punishing  them,  he  freely  forgave  them, 
and  divided  all  the  food  he  had  in  his  palace  among  the 
famished  multitude. 

We  are  told  that  Antoninus  built  the  great  circus  at 
Nimes,  in  Gaul,  because  his  family  had  lived  there ;  and 
that  he  ordered  the  erection  of  the  huge  aqueduct  near 
there  which  is  known  as  the  "  Bridge  of  the  Gard." 

Antoninus  once  read  the  works  of  a  philosopher  named 
Jus'tin,  who  had  been  converted  to  Christianity.  From 
them  he  learned  that  the  Christians,  whom  the  Romans 
despised  and  illtreated,  taught  their  disciples  nothing  but 
good;  and  he  therefore  put  an  end  to  the  persecutions 
against  them. 

Although  the  emperor  himself  was  not  a  Christian,  he 
allowed   the  new  sect  to  practice  their   religion   openly. 


248 

Before  this,  the  Christians  had  been  obliged  to  hide  in  the 
Cat'a-combs,  long,  underground  passages,  where  they  had 
held  their  meetings  in  constant  terror  for  their  lives. 

When  Antoninus  died,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  the 
people  all  mourned  for  him  as  for  a  father;  and  they 
erected  a  column  in  his  honor,  of  which  nothing  but  the 
base  can  now  be  seen.  We  are  told  that  this  monument 
bore  the  emperor's  favorite  maxim,  which  was :  "  I  would 
rather  save  the  life  of  one  citizen,  than  put  to  death  a 
thousand  enemies." 


£*<c 


XC.     THE   MODEL   PAGAN. 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  was  a  worthy  successor  of  the 
good  Antoninus.  He  was  one  of  the  best  and  most 
remarkable  men  that  ever  lived.  He  traced  his  descent 
from  the  second  king  of  Rome,  Numa  Pompilius,  and  he. 
himself  has  said :  "  To  the  gods  I  am  indebted  for  hav- 
ing good  grandfathers,  good  parents,  a  good  sister,  good 
teachers,  good  associates,  good  kinsmen  and  friends, — 
nearly  everything  good." 

The  new  emperor  had  been  most  carefully  brought  up 
and  educated,  and  never  did  good  teachers  have  so  good  a 
pupil.  He  was  not  a  Christian,  but  a  pagan  who  practiced 
all  the  virtues  Which  the  Christians  taught.  He  belonged 
to  a  school  of  philosophers  called  the  Sto'ics,  who  said 
that  people  ought  to  bear  nobly  all  the  ills  of  this  life,  and 
to  seek  to  be  good  rather  than  happy. 

He  delighted  in  reading  and  hearing  of  the  lives  of 


249 

great  and  noble  men,  and  specially  admired  Ep-ic-te'tus  the 
philosopher.  This  man,  although  only  a  lame  slave,  was 
one  of  the  finest  characters  that  ever  lived ;  and  the  great 
emperor  profited  much  by  the  teachings  received  from 
him.  Marcus  Aurelius  thus  learned  to  be  simple,  true, 
temperate,  and  good ;  and  through  the  influence  of  Epic- 
tetus  he  became  a  model  of  pagan  virtue. 

During  the  course  of  his  life,  this  emperor  wrote  down 
many  of  the  beautiful  thoughts  which  occurred  to  him, 
and  many  maxims  for  the  education  of  his  son.  These 
writings  have  been  preserved  in  a  book  called  "Medita- 
tions of  Marcus  Aurelius,"  and  are  said  to  be  the  finest 
ever  written,  after  the  Bible. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  although  so  fond  of  peace,  did  not 
enjoy  much  of  it  during  his  reign,  for  there  was  constant 
trouble  with  the  barbarians  in  Germany  and  Britain.  As 
soon  as  these  disturbances  began,  the  Parthians  in  the  East 
revolted  also ;  and  Ve'rus,  whom  Marcus  Aurelius  had 
made  associate  ruler  of  Rome,  was  sent  out  to  fight 
them. 

This  Verus,  unfortunately,  was  as  bad  as  Aurelius  was 
good.  While  he  was  in  Rome  he  behaved  very  well,  but 
when  far  away  from  his  virtuous  colleague,  he  began  to 
live  a  very  wicked  life.  Had  not  his  generals  fought 
bravely  for  him,  the  Parthians  would  never  have  been 
conquered ;  for  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  idleness,  or 
in  eating  and  drinking  to  excess. 

When  Verus  returned  home,  he  claimed  and  received 
the  honors  of  a  triumph,  although  they  belonged  in  reality 
to  his  generals.  The  joy  of  the  Romans  at  his  return, 
however,    was    soon   changed  to    mourning,    because   the 


250 

troops   brought   back  from  the    East  a  horrible    disease, 
which  caused  the  death  of  hosts  of  people. 

The  Romans  were  almost  wild  with  terror,  owing  to 
this  disease  and  to  the  floods  and  famines  which  took 
place  at  about  the  same  time ;  but  Marcus  Aurelius 
showed  great  courage,  and  went  among  them  trying  to 
relieve  their  sufferings,  and  exhorting  them  to  be  patient. 

•  Hoping  to  put  an  end  to  such  scourges,  the  people 
made  great  offerings  to  the  gods ;  and  when  these  failed 
to  bring  any  relief,  the  pagan  priests  accused  the  Chris- 
tians of  causing  all  their  woes.  On  the  strength  of  such 
accusations,  the  Christians  were  again  persecuted;  and 
the  only  fault  which  can  be  found  with  Marcus  Aurelius 
is  that  he  allowed  them  to  be  tortured  during  his  reign. 

Many  historians,  however,  say  that  the  blame  of  the 
persecution  does  not  really  rest  upon  Aurelius,  who  knew 
nothing  about  the  new  religion,  but  upon  the  senators, 
who  made  him  believe  that  the  Christians  were  very 
wicked,  and  that  they  should  be  put  down  at  any  price. 

Verus  having  died,  Marcus  Aurelius  now  became  sole 
ruler.  Meanwhile,  a  great  rebellion  had  broken  out  among 
the  barbarians  in  the  north,  and  the  emperor  himself  took 
command  of  the  army  that  marched  against  them.  We 
are  told  that  once  during  this  campaign  the  Roman  legions 
were  in  great  danger.  Had  it  not  been  for  a  sudden 
thunderstorm,  accompanied  by  much  hail,  which  fell  upon 
the  enemy,  the  emperor  and  his  troops  would  surely  have 
perished. 

This  timely  thunderstorm  has  been  considered  a  miracle. 
The  pagan  Romans  said  that  it  was  worked  by  their  gods, 
whom  they  had  called    upon   in   their   distress;   but   the 


251 

Christians  believed  that  it  was  owing  to  the  prayers  of 
some  of  their  brothers  who  were  in  the  imperial  army. 

However  this  may  be,  Aurelius  put  a  stop  to  the  perse- 
cutions of  the  Christians  on  his  return  to  Rome.  He  died 
not  long  after,  at  Vi-en'na,  during  another  campaign,  leav- 
ing the  empire  to  Com'mo-dus,  his  young  son,  and  implor- 
ing the  senators  to  give  the  new  emperor  good  advice. 

The  victories  and  life  of  Marcus  Aurelius  were  com- 
memorated by  a  column,  still  standing  in  Rome,  where  the 
miracle  related  above  is  also  represented.  A  better  monu- 
ment, however,  is  the  book  he  wrote,  which  has  been 
translated  into  English,  so  that  everybody  can  read  it; 
and  best  of  all  is  the  record  of  his  life,  which  had  been 
wholly  devoted  to  doing  good. 


3*KC 


XCI.     ANOTHER   CRUEL    EMPEROR. 

MARCUS  AURELIUS,  as  you  have  seen,  was  a 
model  of  every  virtue,  and  fully  deserved  the  title  of 
the  greatest  of  Roman  emperors ;  but  his  son  Com  modus 
was  one  of  the  most  vicious  men  that  ever  lived.  In  spite 
of  his  father's  example,  and  of  the  careful  training  he  had 
received,  Commodus  had  already  shown  cruel  traits  in  his 
childhood. 

When  he  was  only  thirteen  years  of  age,  a  slave  once 
failed  to  heat  his  bath  properly.  In  a  rage  because  of  this 
oversight,  Commodus  ordered  that  the  man  should  be  flung 
into  the  fire.  Such  was  the  passion  he  displayed  that  the 
people  around  him  did  not  dare  to   disobey  him  openly. 


252 

But,  instead  of  the  slave,  a  sheepskin  was  thrown  into  the 
flames  ;  and  Commodus,  smelling  the  bad  odor  which  arose 
from  the  furnace,  went  away  satisfied,  thinking  that  the 
slave  was  dead. 

Commodus  did  not  improve  as  he  grew  older,  so  you  will 
not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  he  paid  no  heed  to  his  father's 
dying  requests.  Instead  of  listening  to  the  senators'  advice, 
he  drove  away  from  court  all  his  father's  friends,  and  sur- 
rounded himself  with  a  number  of  flatterers.  They  ap- 
plauded everything  he  did,  and  told  him  morning,  noon, 
and  night  that  he  was  the  handsomest,  wittiest,  and  wisest 
man  that  had  ever  been  seen.  At  the  end  of  three  years 
they  had  managed  to  turn  his  head  completely,  and  to  help 
him  undo  much  of  the  good  his  father  had  done. 

Of  course  so  cruel  and  bad  a  man  as  Commodus  had 
many  enemies,  and  could  not  expect  to  live  long.  Once, 
as  he  was  coming  from  the  games,  a  man  sprang  upon 
him  with  dagger  raised,  and  cried  :  "  The  senate  sends  you 
this." 

By  a  quick  movement,  Commodus  dodged  the  blow,  and 
the  would-be  murderer  was  seized  by  the  guards.  The 
man  was  then  tortured  to  make  him  reveal  the  names  of 
his  accomplices;  and  among  them  was  the  emperor's 
own  sister. 

This  attempt  made  Commodus  both  angry  and  suspicious. 
All  those  suspected  of  having  taken  part  in  the  conspiracy 
were  either  exiled  or  slain,  and  it  is  said  that  the  emperor 
never  trusted  any  one  again,  and  became  a  perfect  monster 
of  cruelty  and  vice. 

Commodus  was  passionately  fond  of  all  kinds  of  gladia- 
torial shows,  in  which  he  liked  to  take  part  himself,  as  he 


253 

was  very  vain.  But  he  was  as  cowardly  as  vain ;  so  he 
always  used  the  best  of  weapons,  while  his  opponents 
were  armed  with  leaden  swords  which  could  do  him  no 
harm. 

The  emperor  also  delighted  in  fighting  against  wild 
beasts,  from  a  very  safe  place,  where  they  could  not  possi- 
bly come  to  him.  When  he  had  killed  them  all,  he  boast- 
fully called  himself  the  Roman  Her'cu-les,  and  insisted 
that  his  people  should  worship  him. 

Another  pastime,  of  which  Commodus  is  said  to  have 
been  very  fond,  was  playing  barber  to  his  own  servants. 
But,  as  he  would  accidentally  cut  off  their  ears,  lips,  or 
noses,  his  slaves  were  not  eager  for  the  honor  of  being 
thus  served  by  their  master. 

Although  the  barbarians  grew  ever  bolder,  and  finally 
made  open  war  on  the  legions,  Commodus  did  not  go 
forth  to  fight  them.  Instead,  he  sent  his  generals  to  the 
front,  while  he  remained  in  Rome,  where  he  thought  of 
nothing  but  his  pleasures,  and  of  killing  as  many  people 
as  possible. 

Like  Domitian,  he  had  a  tablet  on  which  he  daily  wrote 
the  names  of  his  next  victims.  This  tablet  once  fell  into 
the  hands  of  his  wife,  Mar'cia,  who  discovered  her  own 
name  among  those  of  several  senators  and  officers  who 
were  to  be  slain. 

Marcia  showed  the  list  to  two  of  these  proposed  vic- 
tims, and  they  resolved  to  murder  the  wicked  emperor  in 
order  to  save  their  own  lives.  They  therefore  began  by 
poisoning  his  food ;  and,  when  they  saw  that  the  drug  did 
not  act  quickly  enough,  they  hired  a  slave  to  murder  him. 

Commodus  was  not  quite  thirty-two  when  he  thus  died, 


254 

and  his  reign  had  lasted  only  twelve  years.  Instead  of 
mourning  for  him  as  they  had  for  his  good  father,  all  his 
subjects  openly  rejoiced ;  and  throughout  the  empire  peo- 
ple sighed  with  relief  when  they  knew  that  he  was  dead. 


>i*Kc 


XCII.     AN    UNNATURAL   SON. 

THE  pretorian  guard  by  this  time  fancied  that  they 
could  have  things  all  their  own  way.  They  now 
elected  and  killed  two  emperors,  Per'ti-nax  and  Ju-li-a'nus, 
and  finally  decided  to  obey  a  third,  Sep-tim'i-us  Se-ve'rus, 
who  entered  Rome  as  a  conqueror,  at  the  head  of  the 
legions  he  had  commanded  in  Illyria. 

For  the  sake  of  the  people,  who  had  loved  Pertinax,  the 
new  emperor  ordered  that  he  should  be  placed  among  the 
gods,  and  that  a  ceremony  called  an  Ap-o-the'o-sis  should 
take  place  for  this  purpose. 

A  waxen  image  of  the  dead  Pertinax  lay  in  state  for  a 
whole  week  upon  a  golden  bed,  and  was  then  publicly 
burned  on  a  huge  pyre.  When  the  flames  rose  up  around 
it,  an  eagle,  purposely  hidden  in  the  pyre,  was  set  free, 
and  flew  up  into  the  sky  in  terror.  The  ignorant  specta- 
tors were  then  told  that  the  eagle  had  carried  the  soul  of 
Pertinax  up  to  heaven,  and  that  they  must  henceforth  wor- 
ship, him. 

Having  become  master  of  Rome,  and  secured  the 
approval  of  the  people,  Severus  turned  all  his  energies 
against  his  two  rivals;  for  both  the  legions  of  Britain 
and   Gaul,  and  those  of   Syria,  had  elected   emperors  at 


255 

the  very  time  when  the  legions  in  Pan-no'ni-a  and  Illyria 
named  him  for  the  same  office. 

Severus  first  went  east  to  fight  Ni'ger,  his  most  dreaded 
rival.  Several  battles  were  fought,  ending  with  the  defeat 
and  death  of  the  Syrian  leader.  Niger's  head  was  then 
cut  off,  and  flung  over  the  walls  of  By-zan'tium,  his  prin- 
cipal stronghold  on  the  Bos'pho-rus. 

When  the  people  beheld  this  bloody  token,  they  fought 
even  harder  than  before  to  defend  the  city ;  but,  although 
they  made  a  glorious  resistance,  Severus  at  last  forced 
them  to  surrender.  By  his  order,  the  city  was  sacked,  the 
walls  razed,  and  the  people  reduced  to  slavery ;  but,  as 
you  will  soon  see,  Byzantium  rose  again,  and  soon  became 
the  rival  of  Rome. 

As  one  of  his  rivals  had  been  killed,  Severus  now 
marched  westward  to  meet  Al-bi'nus,  the  other.  The  two 
armies  met  in  Gaul,  near  Ly'ons,  and  a  terrible  battle  was 
fought,  in  which  Severus  won  the  victory  by  his  personal 
bravery  in  the  face  of  great  danger. 

The  emperor  now  went  back  to  Rome,  where  twenty- 
nine  senators  were  slain  by  his  order,  because  they  had 
dared  to  take  sides  with  his  rival.  Then,  to  make  sure 
that  the  empire  would  not  pass  out  of  his  family,  he  made 
both  his  sons  associate  emperors. 

Severus,  the  twentieth  emperor  of  Rome,  was  very  strict 
in  making  everybody  obey  him,  and  was  a  stern  ruler.  He 
also  won  much  glory  as  a  general,  and  fought  many  battles 
in  many  lands.  His  last  campaign  was  in  Britain,  where 
he  had  gone  to  suppress  an  insurrection,  and  where  his 
two  sons  accompanied  him. 

We   are   told    that  Car-a-caFla,  the  eldest  son,  was  so 


256 

eager  to  be  emperor  in  his  turn  that  he  made  an  attempt 
to  murder  his  father  during  this  campaign. 

Grieved  to  the  heart  by  such  unnatural  conduct,  Severus 
privately  reproved  his  son,  and  even  offered  him  a  sword, 
saying  :  "There,  kill  me  if  you  dare  !  "  Although  Caracalla 
did  not  take  advantage  of  the  permission  thus  given  him, 
he  is  suspected  of  having  poisoned  his  father  a  little  later. 

Severus  died  in  Britain,  at  York,  and  his  last  words  are 
said  to  have  been  the  following,  addressed  to  his  funeral 
urn :  "  Little  urn,,  thou  shalt  soon  contain  him  for  whom 
the  universe  seemed  too  small." 


**<c 


XCIII.     THE   SENATE   OF   WOMEN. 

SEVERUS  was  succeeded  by  his  two  sons  Ge'ta  and 
Caracalla.  Geta,  the  younger,  was  in  his  brother's 
way,  and  to  get  rid  of  him  this  monster  pursued  and  mur- 
dered him  in  his  mother's  arms.  Having  thus  become 
sole  master  of  the  empire,  Caracalla  surpassed  all  those 
who  came  before  him  in  cruelty  and  vice. 

He  was  so  suspicious  that  he  is  said  to  have  murdered 
twenty  thousand  persons,  simply  because  he  fancied  that 
they  were  opposed  to  him.  Then,  too,  hearing  that  the 
people  at  Alexandria  had  ventured  to  make  jokes  about 
him,  he  had  all  the  inhabitants  put  to  the  sword,  without 
any  regard  for  either  age  or  sex. 

Caracalla  visited  all  the  different  parts  of  his  realm, 
merely  for  the  sake  of  plundering  his  subjects.  Part  of 
the  money  he  spent  in  building  some  famous  public  baths 


257 


at  Rome ;  but  he  committed  so  many  crimes  that  the  peo- 
ple all  hated  him.  Ma-cri'nus,  the  commander  of  the 
pretorian  guard,  finally  murdered  and  succeeded  him ;    but 


Baths  of  Caracalla. 


his  reign  was  soon  brought  to  an  end,  too,  by  the  election 
of  He-li-o-gab'a-lus  by  the  Syrian  troops. 

Although  the  new  emperor  was  only  fourteen  years  of 
age,  he  had  already  acted  as  high  priest  of  the  Syrian  god 


STO.  OF  ROM.  —  17 


258 

El-a-gab'a-lus,  whose  Greek  name  he  had  taken  as  his 
own.  The  beauty  of  Heliogabalus  was  remarkable,  and  he 
delighted  in  wearing  magnificent  robes,  and  in  taking  part 
in  imposing  ceremonies. 

He  is  noted  in  history  chiefly  for  his  folly  and  his  vices, 
and  is  said  to  have  married  and  divorced  six  wives  before 
he  was  eighteen  years  old.  Elagabalus  was  made  the 
principal  god  in  Rome,  and  the  emperor,  we  are  told, 
offered  human  sacrifices  to  this  idol  in  secret,  and  danced 
before  it  in  public. 

Either  to  make  fun  of  the  senators,  or  to  satisfy  a  fancy 
of  his  mother  and  grandmother,  Heliogabalus  made  a  sen- 
ate for  women.  His  mother  was  made  chief  of  the  new 
assembly,  and  presided  at  every  meeting  with  much  pomp 
and  gravity. 

Even  the  Romans  were  shocked  by  the  emperor's  con- 
duct, so  the  soldiers  soon  rose  up  against  him.  Bursting 
into  the  palace  one  day,  they  dragged  Heliogabalus  from 
the  closet  where  he  was  hiding,  killed  him  and  his  mother, 
and  scornfully  flung  their  bodies  into  the  Tiber. 

As  soon  as  the  soldiers  had  murdered  the  emperor,  they 
proceeded  to  elect  his  cousin  Alexander,  who  proved  a 
great  contrast  to  him  in  every  way.  Both  of  these  young 
men  belonged  to  the  family  of  Severus ;  but,  while  Helio- 
gabalus was  ignorant  and  vicious,  Alexander  was  both 
wise  and  good. 

Unfortunately,  however,  he  was  not  intended  for  the 
ruler  of  so  restive  a  people  as  the  Romans.  Although 
he  shone  as  a  painter,  sculptor,  poet,  mathematician,  and 
musician,  he  had  no  military  talents  at  all. 

During  his  reign,  the  barbarians  came  pouring  over  the 


259 

Rhine,  and  threatened  to  overrun  all  Gaul.  Alexander 
marched  against  them  in  person,  for  he  was  no  coward ; 
but  he  was  slain  by  his  own  soldiers  during  a  mutiny.  The 
trouble  is  said  to  have  been  caused  by  Max-i-mi'nus,  who 
became  Alexander's  successor,  and  hence  the  twenty-fifth 
emperor  of  Rome. 

XCIV.     THE  GIGANTIC    EMPEROR. 

THE  new  emperor,  Maximinus,  was  of  peasant  blood, 
and  was  a  native  of  Thrace.  He  was  of  uncommon 
strength  and  size,  and  very  ambitious  indeed.  As  he 
found  the  occupation  of  herdsman  too  narrow  for  him, 
he  entered  the  Roman  army  during  the  reign  of  Severus, 
and  soon  gained  the  emperor's  attention  by  his  feats  of 
strength. 

We  are  told  that  he  was  more  than  eight  feet  high,  that 
his  wife's  bracelet  served  him  as  a  thumb  ring,  and  that  he 
could  easily  draw  a  load  which  a  team  of  oxen  could  not 
move.  He  could  kill  a  horse  with  one  blow  of  his  fist, 
and  it  is  said  that  he  ate  forty  pounds  of  meat  every  day, 
and  drank  six  gallons  of  wine. 

A  man  who  was  so  mighty  an  eater  and  so  very  tall 
and  strong,  was  of  course  afraid  of  nothing ;  and  you  will 
not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  he  was  winner  in  all  ath- 
letic games,  and  that  he  quickly  won  the  respect  of  the 
Roman  soldiers. 

Maximinus  was  noted  for  his  simplicity,  discipline,  and 
virtue  as  long  as  he  was  in  the  army ;  but  he  no  sooner 
came  to  the  throne  than  he  became  both  cruel  and  wicked. 


26o 


He  persecuted  the  Christians,  who  had  already  suffered 
five  terrible  persecutions  under  Roman  emperors ;  and  he 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  in  camp.  He  waged 
many  wars  against  the  revolted  barbarians,  and  we  are 
told  that  he  fought  in  person  at  the  head  of  his  army  in 
every  battle. 

The  cruelty  and  tyranny  of  Maximinus  soon  caused 
much  discontent,  so  his  reign  lasted  only  about  three 
years.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  his  troops  suddenly 
mutinied,  and  murdered  him  and  his  son  while  they  were 
sleeping  at  noon  in  their  tent.  Their  heads  were  then 
sent  to  Rome,  where  they  were  publicly  burned  on  the 
Field  of  Mars,  amid  the  cheers  of  the  crowd. 

Three  emperors  now  followed  one  another  on  the  throne 
in  quick  succession.  All  that  need  be  said  of  them  is  that 
they  died  by  violence.  But  the  twenty-ninth  emperor  of 
Rome  was  named  Phil'ip,  and  during  his  reign  the  Ro- 
mans celebrated  the  one  thousandth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  their  beloved  city.  It  had  been  customary 
to  greet  each  hundredth  anniversary  by  great  rejoicings; 
and  a  public  festival,  known  as  the  Sec'u-lar  Games,  had 
been  founded  by  Augustus. 

Philip  ordered  that  these  games  should  be  celebrated 
with  even  more  pomp  than  usual,  and  had  coins  struck 
with  his  effigy  on  one  side,  and  the  Latin  words  meaning 
"for  a  new  century"  on  the  other.  None  but  Roman 
citizens  were  allowed  to  take  part  in  this  festival,  and  the 
religious  ceremonies,  public  processions,  and  general 
illuminations   are  said  to  have  been  very    grand    indeed. 

The  games  were  scarcely  over,  when  Philip  heard  that 
a  revolt  had  broken  out  among  the  Roman  soldiers  along 


(261) 


262 


the  Dan'ube  River.  To  put  an  end  to  it  as  quickly  as 
possible,  he  sent  a  Roman  senator  named  Decius  with 
orders  to  appease  them. 

Decius  did  his  best  to  bring  the  soldiers  back  to  obedi- 
ence, but  they  were  so  excited  that  they  would  not  listen 
to  any  of  his  speeches  in  favor  of  Philip.  Instead  of  sub- 
mitting they  elected  Decius  emperor,  much  against  his 
will,  and  forced  him,  under  penalty  of  death,  to  lead  them 
against  Philip. 

The  army  commanded  by  the  unhappy  Decius  met 
Philip  and  defeated  him.  Philip  was  killed,  and  the  new 
emperor  marched  on  to  Rome,  where  he  soon  began  a 
fearful  persecution  of  the  Christians.  Such  was  the 
severity  used  during  the  two  years  of  this  persecution, 
that  the  Romans  fancied  that  all  the  Christians  had  been 
killed,  and  that  their  religion  would  never  be  heard  of 
again. 

XCV.     INVASION   OF  THE   GOTHS. 

DURING  the  reign  of  Decius,  a  new  and  terrible  race 
of  barbarians,  called  Goths,  came  sweeping  down 
from  the  north.  They  were  tall  and  fierce,  and  traveled 
with  their  wives  and  children,  their  flocks,  and  all  they 
owned. 

The  Goths  were  divided  into  several  large  tribes:  the 
Os'tro-goths,  or  East  Goths,  the  Vis'i-goths,  or  West  Goths, 
and  the  Gep'i-dae,  or  Laggards,  so  called  because  this  tribe 
followed  the  others.  All  these  barbarians  spoke  a  rude  Teu- 
tonic dialect,  like  the  one  from  which  the  present  German 


263 

language  has  grown ;  and  among  the  gods  whom  they 
worshiped   was    O'din. 

The  Goths  met  the  Romans  in  several  battles,  and, 
spreading  always  farther,  ruined  many  towns,  among 
others,  Phil-ip-pop'o-lis,  in  Thrace,  a  city  which  had  been 
founded  by  the  father  of  Alexander  the  Great.  Here 
they  killed  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  people. 

Decius  marched  against  the  Goths,  hoping  to  punish 
them  for  this  massacre ;  but  he  fell  into  an  ambush,  where 
he  was  killed  with  his  son.  His  successor,  Gal'lus,  made 
a  dishonorable  peace  with  the  barbarians,  and  allowed 
them  to  settle  on  the  other  side  of  the  Danube. 

Gallus  and  his  general  ^E-mil'i-an,  who  succeeded  him, 
were  both  slain  by  their  own  troops ;  and  the  next  em- 
peror was  Va-le'ri-an,  who  was  the  choice  of  the  Roman 
legions  in  Rse'tia.  This  last-named  prince  was  both  brave 
and  virtuous.  .  He  arrived  in  Rome  to  find  both  Gallus 
and  ^Emilian  dead,  and  took  possession  of  the  throne 
without  dispute. 

Although  already  a  very  old  man,  Valerian  directed  his 
son  Gal-li-e'nus  to  attend  to  the  wars  in  Europe,  while  he 
went  off  to  Asia  to  fight  Sa'por,  King  of  Persia.  This 
monarch  had  overrun  much  Roman  territory,  and  had 
surprised  the  city  of  Antioch  while  the  inhabitants  were  at 
the  theater. 

Valerian  recovered  Antioch  from  the  enemy,  but  was 
finally  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  We  are  told  that  lie 
was  treated  very  harshly  by  Sapor,  who  used  the  emperor's 
neck  as  a  mounting  block  whenever  he  wanted  to  get  on 
his  horse. 

Some  writers  of  history  say  that  when  Valerian  died,  the 


264 

Persian  king  had  him  flayed.  His  skin  was  then  dyed 
red,  stuffed,  and  hung  up  in  a  temple,  where  Sapor 
insolently  pointed  it  out  to  the  Roman  ambassadors,  say- 
ing,  "  Behold  your  emperor !  " 


>XKc 


XCVI.    ZENOBIA,   QUEEN   OF   PALMYRA. 

GALLIENUS  became  sole  ruler  after  Valerian's  de- 
feat ;  but  he  made  no  attempt  to  rescue  or  avenge 
his  father,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  his  pleasures.  He 
was  soon  roused,  however,  by  the  news  that  the  Franks 
had  crossed  the  Rhine,  and  had  settled  in  Gaul,  which  from 
them  received  its  present  name  of  France.  Soon  after, 
Gallienus  heard  that  the  Goths,  sailing  down  the  Danube, 
had  come  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  were  robbing  all  the  cities 
on  its  coasts. 

As  Gallienus  made  no  attempt  to  defend  his  people 
against  the  barbarians,  the  provinces  fell  into  the  hands 
of  men  who  governed  them  without  consulting  the  empe- 
ror at  Rome.  These  men  called  themselves  emperors,  but 
they  are  known  in  history  as  the  "Thirty  Tyrants."  One 
of  them  was  O-de-na'thus,  Prince  of  Pal-my'ra,  in  Syria, 
and  he  became  very  powerful  indeed. 

Another  of  these  generals  who  had  taken  the  title  of 
emperor  was  intrenched  in  Mil'an.  The  real  emperor, 
who  was  not  a  coward,  fought  bravely  to  capture  this  city ; 
but  he  was  killed  here,  and  was  succeeded  by  Claudius  II., 
one  of  his  generals. 

The  new  Roman  emperor  was  both  brave  and  good.    He 


265 

began  his  reign  by  defeating  the  Goths,  but  before  he 
could  do  much  more  for  the  good  of  his  people,  he  fell  ill 
and  died,  leaving  the  throne  to  Au-re'lian. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  kingdom  of  Palmyra  had  been 
gaining  in  power  and  extent.  Odenathus  was  dead,  but 
Ze-no'bi-a,  his  wife,  governed  in  the  name  of  her  young 
son.  This  queen  was  a  beautiful  and  very  able  woman. 
She  wished  to  rival  Cleopatra  in  magnificence  of  attire  and 
pomp,  as  well  as  in  beauty. 

After  taking  the  title  of  Empress  of  the  East,  Zenobia 
tried  to  drive  the  Romans  out  of  Asia.  In  full  armor,  she 
led  her  troops  into  battle,  and  conquered  Egypt ;  and  she 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  Persians. 

Aurelian,  having  subdued  the  Goths,  now  led  his  legions 
against  Zenobia.  The  Queen  of  Palmyra  was  defeated 
and  her  capital  taken ;  and,  though  she  attempted  to  flee, 
she  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans.  Many  of  Zeno- 
bia's  most  faithful  supporters  were  killed;  and  among 
them  was  her  secretary,  the  celebrated  writer,  Lon-gi'nus. 

Palmyra  itself  was  at  first  spared,  but  the  inhabitants 
revolted  soon  after  the  Romans  had  left.  Aurelian  there- 
fore retraced  his  steps,  took  the  city  for  the  second  time, 
and,  after  killing  nearly  all  the  people,  razed  both  houses 
and  walls.  To-day  there  is  nothing  but  a  few  ruins  to 
show  where  the  proud  city  of  Palmyra  once  stood ;  yet  its 
wealth  had  been  so  great  that  even  the  Romans  were  daz- 
zled by  the  amount  of  gold  which  they  saw  in  Aurelian's 
triumph. 

They  also  stared  in  wonder  at  Zenobia,  the  proud  east- 
ern queen,  who  was  forced  to  walk  in  front  of  Aurelian's 
car.     The  unhappy  woman  could  scarcely  carry  the  weight 


266 


of  the  priceless  jewels  with  which  she  was  decked  for  this 
occasion. 

When  the  triumph  was  over,  Zenobia  was  allowed  to  live 
in  peace  and  great  comfort  in  a  palace  near  Tibur ;  and 
here  she  brought  up  her  children  as  if  she  had  been  only 
a  Roman  mother.  Her  daughters  married  Roman  nobles, 
and  one  of  her  sons  was  given  a  small  kingdom  by  the 
generous  Aurelian. 

About  a  year  after  the  triumph  in  which  Zenobia  had 
figured,  Aurelian  Was  murdered ;  and  for  a  short  time  no 
one  dared  accept  the  throne,  for  fear  of  dying  a  violent 
death.  At  last  the  senate  chose  a  relative  of  the  great 
Roman  historian  Tacitus ;  but  he  died  of  fever  six  months 
after  his  election,  while  he  was  on  his  way  to  fight  the 
Persians. 

XCVII.     A   PROPHECY    FULFILLED. 

SEVERAL  other  emperors  succeeded  Tacitus  at  short 
intervals,  and  all  died  violent  deaths  after  "very  brief 
reigns.  Finally  the  army  called  Di-o-cle'tian,  an  Illyrian 
soldier,  to  the  throne. 

It  seems  that  a  northern  priestess  had  once  foretold 
that  Diocletian  would  gain  the  Roman  throne  when  he  had 
"  killed  the  boar."  All  the  people  at  this  time  were  more  or 
less  superstitious,  so  Diocletian  spent  much  time  hunting. 
But,  although  he  killed  many  boars,  he  was  not  for  a  long 
time  named  emperor. 

Now  the  two  emperors  who  came  before  Diocletian 
were  murdered  by  a  burly  soldier  named  A'per,  a  Latin 


267 

word  meaning  "  boar."  Some  of  the  legions  then  elected 
Diocletian  to  this  office;  and  he,  wishing  to  punish  the 
murderer  for  his  double  crime,  struck  Aper  down  with  his 
own  hand. 

His  soldiers  were  familiar  with  the  prophecy  of  the 
priestess,  and  they  now  cried  that  he  would  surely  gain 
the  throne,  because  he  had  killed  the  Boar.  True  enough, 
Diocletian's  only  rival  was  soon  slain,  and  he  was  declared 
emperor  by  all  the  Romans. 

Diocletian,  however,  found  that  the  Roman  Empire  was 
too  large  and  hard  to  govern  for  a  single  ruler.  He  there- 
fore made  his  friend  Max-im'i-an  associate  emperor.  Then 
he  said  that  Ga-le'ri-us  and  Con-stan'tius  should  be  called 
Caesars,  and  gave  them  also  a  portion  of  the  empire  to 
govern.  These  four  Roman  rulers  had  their  capitals  at 
Nic-o-me' di-a,  Milan,  Sir'mi-um,  and  Treves ;  and  now  a 
new  epoch  begins,  with  Rome  no  longer  the  central  point 
of  the  government. 

Diocletian  remained  the  head  and  acknowledged  leader 
and  adviser  of  the  other  rulers.  But  his  reign  was  trou- 
bled by  invasions  of  the  barbarians,  a  war  in  Persia,  and  a 
persecution  of  the  Christians,  —  the  worst  and  bloodiest 
that  had  yet  been  known. 

A  lover  of  solitude  and  simplicity,  Diocletian  soon  tired 
of  the  imperial  life.  Therefore,  when  he  felt  that  his 
strength  no  longer  permitted  him  to  serve  the  people,  he 
withdrew  to  a  quiet  retreat  in  his  native  city  of  Sa-lo'na, 
where  he  spent  his  last  eight  years  in  growing  vegetables 
for  his  amusement. 

As  Maximian  had  retired  at  the  same  time  as  Diocletian, 
the  Roman  Empire  was  now  divided  between  Galerius  and 


268 


Constantius,  who  were  known  as  emperors  of  the  East  and 
of  the  West,  respectively.  Constantius,  having  obtained 
the  West  for  his  share,  went  to  Britain  to  suppress  a 
revolt.  He  died  at  York,  and  his  son  Con'stan-tine 
became  emperor  in  his  stead. 

Constantine's    claim    to    the    empire    was    disputed   by 
several  rivals  ;   but  the  strongest  among  them  was  Max-en'- 


Arch  of  Constantine. 


tius,  who  ruled  Italy  and  had  a  large  army.  On  his  way 
to  meet  him,  Constantine  became  a  Christian,  thanks  to  a 
miracle  which  the  ancient  writers  relate  about  as  follows. 

At  noontide,  on  the  day  before  his  battle  with  Maxen- 
tius,  Constantine  and  his  army  were  startled  by  a  brilliant 
cross,  which  suddenly  appeared  in  the  sky.  Around  the 
cross  were  the  Greek  words  meaning,  "  By  this  sign  con- 
quer." 


269 

Constantine  was  so  moved  by  this  vision  that  he  made 
a  vow  to  become  a  Christian  if  he  won  the  victory.  He 
also  ordered  a  new  standard,  called  a  Lab'a-rum,  which 
bore  the  cross  and  the  inscription  he  had  seen  in  the  skies. 
This  was  always  carried  before  him  in  battle. 

The  two  armies  met  near  Rome.  Maxentius  was  de- 
feated, and  Constantine  entered  the  city  in  triumph.  In 
memory  of  his  victory  a  fine  arch  was  built,  which  is  stand- 
ing still,  and  is  always  called  the  Arch  of  Constantine. 


>xx< 


XCVIII.     THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  EMPEROR. 

THE  vow  which  Constantine  had  made  was  duly  kept, 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  his  mother  Hel'e-na,  who 
was  a  very  devout  Christian.  Constantine  ordered  that 
the  Christians  should  have  full  liberty  to  worship  as  they 
pleased ;  and  after  a  time  he  himself  was  baptized.  He 
also  forbade  that  criminals  should  be  put  to  death  on  a 
cross,  as  it  had  been  sanctified  by  Christ;  and  he  put  an 
end  to  all  gladiatorial  shows. 

Constantine  at  first  shared  the  power  with  Li-chVi-us, 
but  he  and  his  colleague  quarreled  on  matters  of  religion. 
They  soon  came  to  arms,  and  we  are  told  that  when  they 
stood  opposed  to  each  other  they  loudly  called  upon  their 
gods. 

As  Constantine  won  the  victory,  he  declared  that  his 
God  was  the  most  worthy  of  honor ;  and  he  established  the 
Christian  Church  so  securely  that  nothing  has  ever  been 
able  to  overthrow  it  since  then.     By  his  order,  all   the 


270 

learned  Christians  came  together  at  Ni-caefa  to  talk  about 
their  religion,  and  to  find  out  exactly  what  people  should 
believe  and  teach.  Here  they  said  that  A'ri-us,  a  religious 
teacher,  had  been  preaching  heresy  ;  and  they  banished 
him  and  his  followers  to  a  remote  part  of  the  empire. 

Constantine  soon  changed  the  seat  of  the  government 
to  Byzantium,  which  was  rebuilt  by  his  order,  and  received 
the  name  of  Con-stan-ti-no'ple,  or  city  of  Constantine. 
Because  he  accomplished  so  much  during  his  reign,  this 
emperor  has  been  surnamed  the  Great,  although  he  was 
not  a  very  good  man. 

During  the  latter  part  of  his  reign,  there  were  sundry 
invasions  of  the  barbarians ;  and  Constantine,  who  was  a 
brave  warrior,  is  said  to  have  driven  them  back  and  treated 
them  with  much  cruelty.  He  died  of  ague  at  Nicomedia, 
leaving  his  empire  to  his  three  sons ;  and  his  remains  were 
carried  to  Constantinople,  so  that  he  might  rest  in  the  city 
which  bore  his  name. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Constantine,  who  is  known  in 
Roman  history  as  the  first  Christian  emperor,  his  three 
sons  began  to  quarrel  among  themselves.  The  result  was 
a  long  series  of  civil  wars,  in  which  two  of  the  brothers 
were  killed,  leaving  the  whole  empire  to  the  third  —  Con- 
stantius  II. 

The  new  emperor,  needing  help,  gave  his  cousin  Jul'ian 
the  title  of  Caesar,  and  placed  him  in  charge  of  Gaul.  As 
Julian  belonged  to  the  family  of  Constantine,  he  was  of 
course  a  Christian.  He  was  a  very  clever  youth,  and  had 
been  sent  to  Athens  to  study  philosophy. 

While  there,  he  learned  to  admire  the  Greek  philosophers 
so   much   that   he   gave  up    Christianity,  and  became    a 


271 

pagan.  On  account  of  this  change  in  religion,  he  is  gen- 
erally known  by  the  surname  of  the  A-pos'tate.  We  are 
told,  also,  that  he  spent  much  time  in  studying  magic  and 
alchemy,  a  science  which  was  supposed  to  teach  people 
how  to  change  all  metals  into  gold. 

Julian  the  Apostate  gave  up  his  studies  with  regret,  to 
share  the  cares  of  government.  While  in  Gaul,  he  learned 
to  be  an  excellent  general,  and  drove  back  the  barbarians 
several  times.  He  lived  for  a  while  in  Lu-te'tia,  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Paris,  and  here  he  built  Roman  baths  whose 
ruins  can  still  be  seen. 


&Hc 


XCIX.     THE    ROMAN    EMPIRE    DIVIDED. 

JULIAN  became  emperor  when  Constantius  II.  died. 
As  soon  as  the  authority  was  entirely  in  his  own 
hands,  he  ordered  that  the  Christian  churches  and  schools 
should  all  be  closed,  and  encouraged  the  people  to  worship 
the  old  pagan  gods. 

All  the  soldiers  in  his  army  were  forced  to  give  up 
Christianity,  under  penalty  of  being  dismissed;  and  he 
made  an  attempt  to  rebuild  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  so 
as  to  prove  to  the  Christians  that  the  prophecy  of  Christ 
was  not  to  be  believed.  But  an  earthquake  frightened  his 
builders  away  from  the  work,  and  a  war  against  the 
Persians  prevented  its  ever  being  renewed. 

During  this  campaign,  Julian  was  mortally  wounded, 
and  he  is  said  to  have  died  exclaiming :  "  Thou  hast 
conquered,  Gal-i-le'an  !  "     The  emperor's  body  was  carried 


272 

to  Tar'sus,  and  buried  there ;  and,  as  Julian  had  appointed 
no  successor,  the  army  at  once  gave  the  empire  to  one  of 
his  officers,  named  Jo'vi-an. 

A  good  man  and  a  fervent  Christian,  Jovian  quickly 
reestablished  the  Christian  religion.  His  reign,  however, 
was  very  brief,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  two  brothers, 
Val-en-tin'i-an  and  Wlens,  who  again"  divided  the  Roman 
world  into  two  parts,  intending  to  make  a  final  separa- 
tion between  the  empires  of  the  East  and  the  West 
(a.d.  364). 

Valentinian  kept  back  the  northern  barbarians  as  long 
as  he  lived,  but  after  his  death  Valens  was  forced  to  allow 
the  Goths  to  settle  in  Thrace.  Here  they  found  some  of 
their  brothers  who  had  been  converted  to  Christianity  by 
the  efforts  of  Ul'fi-las,  a  learned  man,  who  wrote  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible  for  them  in  their  own  Goth'ic  language. 

Valens  failed  to  keep  many  of  the  promises  which  he 
had  made  to  the  Goths,  and  they  became  so  angry  that 
they  revolted  and  killed  him  at  Ha-dri-an-o'ple. 

The  next  emperor  of  the  East  was  The-o-do'sius.  He 
was  so  good  a  general,  and  still  so  very  just,  that  he  soon 
succeeded  in  making  peace  with  the  Goths,  many  of  whom 
entered  his  army  and  became  Roman  soldiers. 

After  years  of  continual  warfare  against  the  barbarians 
and  the  emperors  of  the  West,  Theodosius  became  sole 
ruler  of  the  whole  Roman  Empire,  and  thus  won  the  sur- 
name of  Great.  During  his  reign,  he  induced  his  subjects 
to  renounce  all  the  pagan  gods  except  Victory,  whom  they 
would  not  consent  to  give  up. 

Many  reforms  were  also  made  among  the  Christians, 
the  Arians  were  again  said  to  be  heretics,  and  then  the 


273 

true  Christians  for  the  first  time  took  the  name  of  Catho- 
lics. Theodosius  was  the  last  Roman  emperor  whose  sway 
extended  over  the  whole  empire ;  and  when  he  died  he  left 
the  rule  of  the  East  to  his  son  Ar-ca'di-us,  and  of  the  West 
to  his  son  Ho-no'ri-us. 

C.    AN    EMPEROR'S    PENANCE. 

THEODOSIUS  was,  as  we  have  seen,  an  excellent 
emperor,  and  we  are  told  that  there  is  but  one  stain 
on  his  memory,  —  the  massacre  at  Thes-sa-lo-ni'ca. 

The  people  of  that  city  once  revolted,  because  the 
soldiers  had  arrested  one  of  their  favorite  chariot  drivers, 
who  had  failed  to  obey  the  laws.  In  his  rage  at  hearing 
of  this  revolt,  Theodosius  commanded  that  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  Thessalonica  should  be  killed.  Men,  women,  and 
children  were  accordingly  butchered  without  mercy ;  but 
when  the  deed  was  done,  the  emperor  repented  sorely  of 
his  cruelty. 

He  then  went  to  St.  Am'brose,  a  priest  who  had  vainly 
tried  to  disarm  his  anger.  Humbly  begging  pardon  for 
his  cruelty,  he  asked  permission  to  come  into  the  Church 
once  more.  St.  Ambrose,  however,  would  not  grant  him 
forgiveness  until  Theodosius  had  done  public  penance  for 
his  sin. 

Thus,  you  see,  when  the  Christian  emperors  did  wrong, 
they  were  publicly  reproved  by  the  priests,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  teach  men  to  do  good  and  to  love  one  another. 

Both  sons  of  Theodosius  were  mere  boys  when  they 
were  called  by  their  father's  death  to  take  possession  of 

STO.  OF  ROM.  ■ — 1& 


274 

tiis  empires  of  the  East  and  of  the  West.  For  a  while, 
however,  the  barbarians  dared  not  invade  Roman  territory, 
for  they  had  not  yet  forgotten  how  they  had  been  con- 
quered by  Theodosius. 

The  empire  of  the  West  in  time  became  the  weaker  and 
the  smaller  of  the  two ;  for  the  Cal-e-do'ni-ans  in  Britain, 
the  Germans  along  the  Rhine,  the  Goths  and  Huns 
along  the  Danube,  and  the  Moors  in  Africa  were  little 
by  little  invading  its  territory  and  taking  possession  of  its 
most  exposed  cities. 

As  the  two  princes  were  themselves  too  young  to  gov- 
ern, the  power  was  wielded  by  their  guardians,  Stil'i-cho 
and  Ru-fi'nus,  who  quarreled  and  finally  fought  against  each 
other.  The  national  jealousy  which  had  always  existed 
between  the  Greeks  and  the  Latins  was  increased  by 
these  quarrels  between  the  two  ministers;  and  it  did  not 
come  to  an  end  even  when  Rufinus  was  caught  in  an 
ambush  and  slain. 

When  the  Goths  saw  that  the  empires  of  the  East  and 
the  West  were  too  busy  quarreling  with  each  other  to 
pay  any  attention  to  them,  they  suddenly  marched  into 
Greece  under  Al'a-ric. 

The  Greeks,  in  terror,  implored  Stilicho  to  hasten  to 
their  rescue.  He  came,  and  won  a  victory  over  the 
Goths ;  but,  instead  of  following  up  his  advantage,  he 
soon  returned  to  Italy.  The  Goths,  seeing  this,  soon 
followed  him  thither,  and  laid  siege  to  Milan. 

Stilicho  raised  an  army  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  de- 
feated the  Goths  on  the  same  field  where  Marius  had 
once  conquered  the  Cimbri.  But  the  Goths,  although  de- 
feated, secured  favorable  terms  before  they  withdrew. 


275 

Honorius,  the  emperor  of  the  West,  had  been  very 
badly  frightened  by  the  appearance  of  the  Goths  in  Italy. 
In  his  terror,  he  changed  his  residence  to  the  city  of 
Ra-ven'na,  where  he  fancied  that  he  could  better  defend 
himself  if  they  attacked  him. 


3*K< 


CI.     SIEGES    OF    ROME. 

THE  Goths  had  scarcely  gone  when  some  other  bar- 
barians made  an  invasion,  and  this  time  Florence  was 
besieged.  The  town  held  out  bravely  until  Stilicho  could 
come  to  its  rescue,  and  then  the  invaders  were  all  captured, 
and  either  slain  or  sold  into  slavery. 

Shortly  after  this,  however,  Stilicho  was  murdered  by 
the  soldiers  whom  he  had  so  often  led  to  victory.  The 
news  of  trouble  among  the  Romans  greatly  pleased  Alaric, 
the  King  of  the  Goths  ;  and,  when  the  money  which  Stilicho 
had  promised  him  failed  to  come,  he  made  a  second  raid 
into  Italy. 

This  time  Alaric  swept  on  unchecked  to  the  very  gates 
of  Rome,  which  no  barbarian  army  had  entered  since  the 
Gauls  had  visited  it  about  eight  hundred  years  before. 
The  walls  were  very  strong,  and  the  Goths  saw  at  once 
that  the  city  could  not  be  taken  by  force;  but  Alaric 
thought  that  it  might  surrender  through  famine. 

A  blockade  was  begun.  The  Romans  suffered  greatly 
from  hunger,  and  soon  a  pestilence  ravaged  the  city.  To 
bring  about  the  departure  of  the  Goths,  the  Romans  finally 
offered  a  large  bribe;  but,  as  some  of   the   money   was 


276 

not  promptly  paid,  Alaric  came  back  and  marched  into 
Rome. 

Again  promises  were  made,  but  not  kept,  and  Alaric 
returned  to  the  city  a  third  time,  and  allowed  his  men  "to 
plunder  as  much  as  they  pleased.  Then  he  raided  all  the 
southern  part  of  Italy,  and  was  about  to  cross  over  to 
Sicily,  when  he  was  taken  seriously  ill  and  died. 

Alaric's  brother,  A-dol'phus,  now  made  a  treaty  with 
the  Romans,  and  married  Pla-cid'i-a,  a  sister  of  Honorius. 
He  led  the  Goths  out  of  Italy,  across  France,  and  into 
Spain,  where  he  founded  the  well-known  kingdom  of  the 
Visigoths. 

When  Adolphus  died,  his  widow,  Placidia,  married  a 
noble  Roman  general;  and  their  son,  Valentinian  III.. 
succeeded  his  uncle  Honorius  on  the  throne  of  the  West- 
ern empire.  During  his  reign  there  were  civil  wars,  and 
his  territory  was  made  still  smaller;  for  Gen'se-ric,  King 
of  the  Van'dals,  took  possession  of  Africa. 

The  Huns,  in  the  mean  while,  had  seized  the  lands 
once  occupied  by  the  Goths;  and  they  now  became  a 
united  people  under  their  king,  At'ti-la,  who  has  been 
called  the  "  Scourge  of  God."  By  paying  a  yearly  trib- 
ute to  these  barbarians,  the  Romans  managed  for  a  time 
to  keep  them  out  of  the  empire,  and  induced  them  thus 
to  pursue  their  ravages  elsewhere. 

But  after  becoming  master  of  most  of  the  territory  beyond 
the  Danube  and  the  Rhine,  Attila  led  his  hordes  of  fierce 
Huns  and  other  barbarians,  numbering  more  than  seven 
hundred  thousand  men,  over  the  Rhine,  and  into  the  very 
heart  of  France.  There,  not  far  from  Cha-lons',  took  place 
one  of  the  fiercest  and  most  important  battles  of  Europe. 


277 

Attila  was  defeated  with  great  loss  by  the  Roman 
allies ;  but  the  next  year  he  led  his  army  over  the  Alps 
and  down  into  the  fertile  plains  of  Italy.  Here  Pope 
Le'o,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  met  Attila  and  induced  him 
to  spare  Rome  and  leave  Italy,  upon  condition  that  the 
sister  of  Valentinian  should  marry  him. 

This  marriage  never  took  place,  however,  for  Attila 
returned  home  and  married  a  Gothic  princess  named 
Il'di-co.  We  are  told  that  she  murdered  him,  on  her 
wedding  night,  to  avenge  the  death  of  her  family,  whom 
Attila  had  slain  ;  but  some  historians  say  that  the  king 
died  from  bursting  a  blood  vessel. 


>HKc 


CII.     END   OF   THE   EMPIRE   OF   THE  WEST. 

A  FEW  years  after  the  death  of  the  terrible  Attila, 
Valentinian  was  murdered;  and  during  the  next 
twenty  years  nine  emperors  reigned,  and  there  were 
troubles  and  wars  without  end. 

The  people  were  very  superstitious  in  those  times ; 
and,  as  their  troubles  increased,  some  one  suddenly  re- 
membered that  Romulus,  the  founder  of  Rome,  had  seen 
twelve  vultures.  The  report  was  soon  spread  all  over 
the  country  that  these  twelve  vultures  represented  as 
many  centuries,  and  that,  as  Rome  had  been  founded 
about  twelve  hundred  years  before,  its  rule  would  soon 
be  at  an  end. 

In  the  course  of  these  twenty  years,  Genseric,  King 
of  the  Vandals,  came  over  from  Africa,  captured  Rome, 


278 

and  allowed  his  soldiers  to  sack  it  for  fourteen  days. 
As  his  men  were  very  rough  indeed,  they  destroyed 
many  things  which  they  could  not  carry  away;  and 
when  they  departed  they  took  with  them  the  widow  of 
Valentinian,  and  her  daughters,  and  reduced  many  noble 
Romans  to  slavery. 

Romulus  Au-gus'tu-lus  was  the  last  of  these  nine 
emperors.  Soon  after  his  election,  O-do-a'cer,  the  leader 
of  a  tribe  of  Germans,  made  himself  king  of  Italy, 
deposed  Romulus  Augustulus,  and  began  to  rule  in  his 
stead. 

The  empire  of  the  West  then  came  to  an  end  (a.d.  476), 
and  Rome,  which  had  been  founded  by  one  Romulus,  was 
shorn  of  its  glory  under  another  emperor  of  the  same 
name,  after  having  ruled  nearly  all  the  known  world  for 
many  a  year. 

The  Roman  senate,  seeing  that  the  Western  empire 
was  ended,  now  sent  the  tiara  and  purple  robes  to  Con- 
stantinople, where  the  Eastern  empire  continued  until 
the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks  in   1453. 


INDEX. 


Achates,  the  iaithful 19 

Actium,  naval  battle  at 195 

Adherbal,  grandson  of  Masinissa     .     .     .   153 

Adolphus,  brother  of  Alaric 276 

Adriatic  Sea 11,  116,  128 

/Ediles,  duties  of 86 

i^Emilian,  Emperor  of  Rome 263 

j'Emilius,  consul 132 

^Eneas,  and  Dido 20 

anger  of  gods  against 17 

escape  of.  from  Troy 15 

founder  of  Roman  race 198 

in  Tunis 19 

marriage  and  death  of 22 

return  of,  to  Sicily 21 

./Eneid,  the  story  of  ^Eneas 198 

yEquians,  Rome  at  war  with  .     .     .  92-94,  98 

Africa,  jEneas  lands  in 19 

governed  by  Lepidus 192 

Hadrian  in 244 

Moors  in 274 

Octavius  made  governor  of    ...     .  189 

Scipio  in 136 

Vandals  in 276 

war  in 124 

Africanus,  title  given  to  Scipio  ....  136 
Agricola,  Roman  general  ....  235,  236 
Agrippa,  favorite  general  of  Octavius  .  .  197 
Agrippina  I.,  wifeofGermanicus,  204,  207,  208 

Agrippina  II.,  death  of 221 

distrusted  by  Nero 219 

escape  of,  from  drowning 220 

scheme  of,  to  make  Nero  emperor  .     .  218 

wife  of  Claudius 217 

Alaric,  death  of 276 

leader  of  Goths 274 

Rome  besieged  by 275 

Alba,  destroyed 42 

Romulus  and  Remus  at 26 

Tullus  Hostilius  quarrels  with  people 

of 38 

Al.binus,  conquered  by  Severus  ....  255 

Alexander,  made  emperor  of  Rome      .     .  258 

death  of 259 


PAGE 
Alexander  the  Great  .  .  .  116,  120,  241,  263 
Alexandria,  library  at,  burned  ....  185 
Alps     ...      n,  130,  156,  168,  179,  180, 277 

Ambrose,  St 273 

Amulius,  seizes  throne  of  Latium    ...     23 
sets  Romulus  and  Remus  adrift ...     25 

Anchises,  buried  in  Sicily 17 

father  of  iEneas 15 

tomb  of 21 

Ancus  Martius,  builds  Ostia 46 

death  of 45 

encourages  athletic  exercises      ...    45 

made  king 42 

sons  of 47,  50,  51 

Androclus 145 

Angelo,  St.,  Castle  of 245 

Antioch,  mourning  for  Germanicus  in  .     .  207 

recovered  by  Valerian 263 

Antiochus,  King  of  Syria 138 

Antoninus,  adopts  Marcus  Aurelius     .     .  247 

death  of 248 

gentleness  and  good  works  of     .     .     .  247 

given  surname  of  Pius 246 

made  emperor 246 

Antonius,  Roman  legions  revolt  under     .  237 
Antony,  Mark,  and  Cleopatra     .     .      193-196 

at  Philippi 191 

death  of 196 

friend  of  Caesar 181 

joins  Caesar  in  Illyria 182 

marries  Octavia 193 

one  of  Second  Triumvirate     .    .     .     .189 
pronounces  Caesar's  funeral  oration     .  189 

ruler  of  Asia 192 

Apennines 11 

Aper,  killed  by  Diocletian 266 

Apollo 60 

Apotheosis 254 

Appian  Way 46 

Appius  Claudius,  and  Virginia    .     .     .    96-98 

death  of 98 

made  decemvir 95 

Arcadius  made  emperor  of  East  .     .     .     .  373 
Arch  of  Constantine 969 


279 


280 


PAGE 

Arch  of  Titus 231 

Archimedes,  death  of 134 

discoveries  of 133 

Ardea,  siege  of 62 

Arians,  the 272 

Arius,  a  religious  teacher 270 

Arminius,  defeated  by  Germanicus  .     .     .  204 

German  general 201 

Arria,  wife  of  Paetus 217 

Asculum,  battle  at 119 

Asia,  governed  by  Antony 192 

Trajan  in 242 

Asp,  death  of  Cleopatra  caused  by  .     .     .  196 

Athens,  Brutus  in 197 

Hadrian  in C44 

Julian  the  Apostate  in 270 

Republic  of 95 

Attalus,  wealth  of 149 

Attila,  defeated  by  Romans 277 

King  of  the  Huns 276 

Attus  Navius 49 

Augurs,  appointment  of 35 

Augustan  Age,  the 198 

Augustus,  Cinna's  plot  against    ....  200 

death  of 202 

games  instituted  by 198 

Rome  improved  by 200 

triumphs  and  grief  of 201 

Aurelian,  death  of 266 

made  emperor 265 

Palmyra  taken  by 265 

Aurelius,  Marcus,  adopted  by  Antoninus  247 

death  of 251 

made  emperor 248 

"  Meditations  "of 249 

persecutes  the  Christians 250 

wisdom  and  goodness  of 248 

Aventine,  one  of  seven  hills  of  Rome  .  48, 151 

Babylon,  Trajan  visits 241 

Bedriacum,  battle  at 228 

Belgium,  conquests  of  Caesar  in  .     .     .     .176 

Berbers 136 

Bethlehem,  Christ  born  in 200 

Bithynia,  Hannibal  flees  to 139 

Black  Sea 264 

Boar,  the,  killed  by  Diocletian    ....  267 

Bosphorus 255 

Brennus,  a  Gallic  leader 103 

Rome  invaded  by 104-108 

Bridge  of  the  Gard 247 

Brindisi.     See  Brundisiunt. 

Britain,  barbarians  in 249 

Constantine  in 268 

invaded  by  Caesar 177 

part  of,  becomes  a  Roman  province    .  216 


FAGE 

Britain,  Roman  legions  in 254 

Severus  in 255,  256 

wall  built  by  Hadrian  in 244 

Britannicus,  son  of  Claudius  .      216,  217,  220 

Brundisium,  Caesar  at 181 

Pompey  embarks  at 180 

Brutus  I.,  and  Lucretia 63,65 

death  of 68 

instructed  by  Pythoness 62 

made  consul 66 

nephew  of  Tarquinius  Superbus      .     .    6t 

sons  of 67 

Brutus  II.,  becomes  Caesar's  friend     .     .  183 

death  of 192 

dream  of 191 

joins  Pompey 181 

one  of  Caesar's  murderers  .       187,  188,  189 
Burrhus,  chief  of  pretorian  guard    .     .     .  218 
Byzantium,  name  of,  changed  to  Constan- 
tinople       270 

sacked  by  Saracens 255 

Caelian  hill,  Albans  settle  at  foot  of     .    42,  48 

Caesar,  title  borne  by  all  the  Roman  em- 
perors      197 

Caesar,  Julius,  amusements  of    ....  186 
besieges  Pompey  in  Dyrrachium     .     .182 

conquests  of 176-178 

crosses  the  Rubicon 180 

death  of 187 

defeats  Pompey  at  Pharsalia  ....  183 
government  of  Gaul  given  to  .  .  .  175 
hostility  between  Pompey  and    .     .     .  179 

importance  of,  in  Rome 173 

in  Egypt 184 

made  imperator 185 

will  of 188 

Caesar  Augustus,  see  Octavius. 

Caius  Gracchus,  death  of 152 

elected  tribune 151 

son  of  Cornelia 148 

Calais 178 

Caledonians,  invade  Empire  of  West  .     .  274 

Caligula,  Agrippina  sister  of 217 

death  of 213 

folly  of 212,  213 

made  emperor 211 

son  of  Germanicus 204 

wickedness  and  vanity  of 211 

Camilla,  killed  by  Horatius 41 

sister  of  the  Horatii 38 

Camillus,    and    the    traitorous    school* 

teacher 101 

exile  of ,     .  103 

return  of,  to  Rome 108 

Veii  captured  by 101 


28l 


PAGE 

Campania *37 

Cannae,  battle  at 132 

Capitol     .     .     .     .48,  56,  58,  69,  70,  104, 106, 
107,  108,  150,  188 
Capitoline,  one  of  seven  hills  of  Rome, 

48,  56,  106 
Capitolinus,  name  given  to  Manlius     .     .  108 

Capri,  Island  of 208 

Capua,  Hannibal  at 132 

school  of  gladiators  at 167 

Caracalla,  cruelty  of 256 

death  of 257 

son  of  Severus 255 

Carthage,  at  war  with  Rome  .     .     .      123-141 

destruction  of 141 

Marius  in 162 

story  of  founding  of 19 

Tarentines  ask  aid  from 121 

Carthaginians,  wealth  of 122 

Cassius,  death  of 191 

one  of  Caesar's  murderers  .      187,188,   189 
Cassivelaunus,  defeated  by  Caesar  .     .     .178 

Castor  and  Pollux 79 

Catacombs 248 

Catholics,  Christians  first  take  name  of    .  273 

Catiline,  conspiracy  of 172 

Cato,  the  censor 140 

Catulus,  drives  Lepidus  from  Rome    .     .  165 

Caudine  Forks,  battle  at 113 

Chalons,  battle  at 276 

Channel,  the,  Caesar  crosses 178 

Christian  church,  established  by  Constan- 

tine 269 

Christians,  Antoninus  puts  an  end  to  persecu- 
tions of .  247 

first  take  name  of  Catholics   ....  273 

persecutions  of     .     .     .  223,  238,  242,  246, 

250,  260,  262,  267 

Cicero,  advice  of 188 

called  "  Father  of  his  Country  "     .     .  173 
Catiline's  conspiracy  revealed  by   .     .173 

death  of 190 

exiled  and  recalled 175 

head  of,  brought  to  Antony   ....  190 

joins  Pompey 181 

Cimbri,  conquered  by  Marius      ....  158 

driven  back  by  Marius 157 

threaten  Rome 155 

Cincinnatus,  made  dictator  a  second  time,  100 

story  of 92-94 

Cineas 116,  119 

Cinna,  death  of 163 

enemy  of  Augustus 200 

in  power  in  Rome 162 

Claudius  I.,  death  of 218 

has  Messalina  put  to  death     ....  216 


PAGE 

Claudius  I.  made  emperor 215 

marries  Agrippina     .......  217 

Claudius  II.,  made  emp~ror 264 

Cleopatra,  and  Antony 192-196 

beauty  of      .     . 184 

death  of 196 

made  queen  of  Egypt     ......   185 

Cloaca  Maxima 47 

Clodius,  friend  of  Triumvirate    ....  175 

Clcelia 77 

Clusians,  allies  of  the  Romans    ....   104 

Clusium,  besieged  by  Gauls 103 

King  of 73,  76 

Coliseum,  built  by  Vespasian      ....  230 

Collatinus,  banished  from  Rome.     ...     68 

husband  of  Lucretia      .....    62-65 

made  consul 66 

Commodus,  cruelty  of 251 

death  of 253 

made  emperor 251 

Constantine,  becomes  a  Christian    .     .     .  269 

Constantinople  built  by 270 

made  a  Roman  ruler     ......  267 

made  emperor  of  the  West 268 

Constantine,  Arch  of 269 

Constantinople,  built  by  Constantine  .     .  270 

Constantius  II.,  death  of 271 

made  emperor  .........  270 

Corinth,  destroyed  by  Romans   ....  141 

Coriolanus,  death  of 90,  91 

leads  Volscians  against  Rome    ...     88 
Cornelia  I  ,  mother  of  the  Gracchi      .     .  148 

statue  of 152 

Cornelia  II.,  wife  of  Pompey 184 

Cornwall,  tin  mines  in 178 

Corvus,  name  given  to  Valerius       .     .     .  112 

Crassus,  defeats  Spartacus 169 

in  Syria 176 

member  of  Triumvirate 175 

Cumae 56,  81 

Curiatii,  fight  with  Horatii      ....    38-40 

Curtian  Lake 111 

Curtius,  heroism  of 109 

Dacia,  made  a  Roman  province  ....  241 

Dacians,  conquered  by  Trajan    ....  240 

Domitian  buys  peace  from     ....  236 

Dalmatia,  Roman  legions  in 216 

Danube  River  .     .     .    262,  263,  264,  274,  276 

Deal,  city  of 178 

Decemvirs,  duties  of 95 

Decius  I.,  patriotism  of "4 

Decius  II.,  Christians  persecuted  by  .     .  262 

death  of       263 

made  emperor 262 

Delphi,  oracle  at 60 


282 


PAGE 
Demosthenes,  Cineas  a  pupil  of .     .     .     .  116 

Diana 165 

Dido,  and  iEneas  ...  20 

death  of 21 

founds  Carthage 19,  121 

Diocletian,  made  emperor 266 

retires  from  imperial  office      ....  267 

Domitia,  wife  of  Domitian 237 

Domitian,  Christians  persecuted  by     .     .  238 

death  of 238 

made  emperor 235 

strange  banquet  of 236 

vices  and  cruelty  of 235 

Drusus,  son  of  Tiberius,  death  of    .     .     .  208 

Duilius  Nepos 123 

Dyrrachium,  town  besieged  by  Caesar      .  182 

East  Goths,  see  Ostrogoths. 

Egeria,  water  fairy 34,  37 

Egypt,  Antony  in 193 

Caesar  in 184 

conquered  by  Zenobia 265 

death  of  Pompey  in 184 

Elagabalus,  Syrian  god 258 

Elephants  of  Pyrrhus 1 16-120 

Eleusinian  Mysteries 244 

Epicharis,  tortured  by  Nero 225 

Epictetus,  philosopher 249 

Epirus,  alliance  of,  with  Tarentum      .     .116 

Eros,  slave  of  Antony 196 

Esquiline,  one  of  seven  hills  of  Rome  .     .     48 

Eternal  City 27,  154 

Etruria 14,  65,  66,  128 

Etruscans,  situation  of 14 

Fabian  ambassadors 104 

Fabian  policy 131 

Fabii 92 

Fabius  1 91 

Fabius  II.,  Roman  ambassador  to  Car- 
thage   129 

Fabius  III.,  Roman  general    .     .     .     131,132 

Fabricius,  honor  of 119 

Falerii,  at  war  with  Rome 101 

Famine  in  Rome 87 

Fidenae,  accident  in  theater  at  ...  .  206 
Field  of  Mars    ....      45,  52,  93,  164,  260 

Flamininus,  Roman  general 137 

Florence,  besieged  by  barbarians  .  .  .  275 
Fortune  of  Women,  temple  dedicated  to  .  91 
Forum,  body  of  Brutus  placed  in    ...     68 

body  of  Caesar  placed  in 188 

chasm  in 109 

invaded  by  Gauls 105 

meeting  place  of  Romans 47 


PAGE 

Forum,  temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  in    .    79 

France,  invaded  by  Huns 276 

same  as  Gaul 176 

Franks,  settle  in  Gaul 264 

Fulvia,  wife  of  Antony 190 

Gabii 55,  58,  59,  60,  66 

Galba,  death  of 228 

leads  revolting  soldiers  against  Nero  .  226 

made  emperor 227 

Galerius,  made  a  Roman  ruler    ....  267 

Gallienus,  made  emperor 264 

son  of  Valerian 263 

Gallus,  Emperor  of  Rome 263 

Gaul,  Antony  made  governor  of .     .     .     .  189 

barbarians  in 259 

command  of,  given  to  Caesar      .     .     .175 

Franks  settle  in 264 

Julian  the  Apostate  made  governor  of  270 

Lyons  in 255 

Marius  defeats  Teutons  in     ...     .  157 

Roman  legions  in 254 

wars  of  Caesar  in        176 

Gauls,  Italy  invaded  by      ....     103,  128 

send  to  Rome  for  help 157 

Genseric,  King  of  the  Vandals    .     .     276,  277 

Gepjdae 262 

Germanicus,  death  of 207 

Germans  defeated  by    .....     .  204 

made  commander  of  German  legions 

on  Rhine 203 

sent  to  Asia  by  Tiberius 206 

triumph  of 206 

Germans,  invade  Empire  of  West  .     .     .  274 

Romans  defeated  by 201 

Germany,  barbarians  in 249 

Geta,  murdered  by  Caracalla      ....  256 

Gladiators,  combats  of 145 

Golden  Palace,  built  by  Nero      ....  225 

Gospel,  preaching  of  the 223 

Goths,  defeated  by  Stilicho 274 

invasions  of 262-264,  274 

led  by  Adolphus   ........  276 

Rome  besieged  by 275 

settle  in  Thrace 272 

Theodosius  makes  peace  with     .     .     .  272 

Greece,  Caesar  in       181 

Delphi  in 60 

Goths  invade 274 

Pyrrhus  wars  against 120 

Romans  become  masters  of    .     .     .     .141 

Greek  cities "5,  M1 

literature 143 

Greeks,  and  Troy 14 

freed  from  Macedonians 137 


283 


PAGE 

Hadrian,  becomes  suspicious  and  cruel    .  246 

death  of 246 

foreign  travels  of 243 

improvements  made  by 244 

liking  of,  for  the  Christians    ....  244 

made  emperor 243 

Hadrian's  Mole 245 

Hadrianople 272 

Hannibal,  at  court  of  Antiochus       .     .     .  138 

conquered  by  Scipio 136 

crosses  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Alps  .     .  130 

death  of 139 

losing  ground  in  Italy 136 

oath  of 131 

retires  to  Carthage 136 

victory  of,  at  Ticinus 130 

Haruspices,  appointment  of 36 

Hasdrubal  I.,  defeat  of 126 

Hasdrubal  II.,  brother  of  Hannibal     .     .  134 

Helena,  mother  of  Constantine    ....  269 

Heliogabalus,  death  of 258 

folly  of  • 258 

made  emperor 257 

Heraclea,  battle  at 118 

Herculaneum,  a  Samnite  town    .     .     .     .115 

destruction  of 233 

ruins  of 234 

Hercules,  the  Roman,  Commodus  called 

himself 253 

Herod,  governor  of  Judea 200 

Hiempsal,  grandson  of  Masinissa    .     .     .  153 
Hiero,  King  of  Syracuse,  conquered  by 

the  Romans 123 

death  of 133 

Honorius,  made  emperor  of  West    .     .     .  273 

removes  to  Ravenna 275 

Horace,  Roman  poet 198 

Horatii,  fight  with  Curiatii     ....    38-40 
Horatius,  kills  the  Curiatii     .     .     .     .  39,  40 

kills  Camilla 40 

Horatius  Codes,  at  the  bridge    ....  74 

gratitude  of  Romans  toward  ....  76 

Huns,  Attila  king  of 276 

invade  Empire  of  West 274 

Ildico,  Attila  marries 277 

Illyria,  Caesar  and  Pompey  in     ...     .  182 

Roman  legions  in 254,  255 

Imperator,  Caesar  made 185 

Incitatus,  horse  of  Caligula 212 

Isthmian  games 137 

Italy,  Gauls  invade 128 

situation  of n 

lulus,  fulfills  prophecy  about  boards    .     .  21 

sonofiEneas 15 


PAGE 

Janus,  Temple  of.     .     .    34,  35,  128,  198,  201 
Jerusalem,  besieged  by  Titus  and  Vespa- 
sian     229 

Crassus  in 176 

subdued  by  Pompey 172 

taken  by  Titus 230 

Jesus  Christ,  birth  of 200 

crucifixion  of,  at  Jerusalem    ....  210 

spread  of  belief  in, 210 

Jews,  destruction  of 230,  231 

John,  the  apostle,  fate  of 238 

Jovian,  Emperor  of  Rome 272 

Judea,  Bethlehem  of,  Christ  born  in    .     .  200 

subdued  by  Pompey 172 

at  war  with  Rome 154 

Jugurtha,  death  of 155 

murders  his  cousins 153 

Julia,   daughter  of   Caesar   and  wife   of 

Pompey 175 

death  of 178 

Julian  the  Apostate,  made  emperor     .     .  271 

Julianus,  Emperor  of  Rome 254 

Jupiter,  Temple  of 55,  56,  244 

Justin,  Roman  philosopher 247 

Juvenal,  Roman  poet 242 

Labarum,  battle  standard  of  Constantine    269 

Laggards.     See  Gepidce. 

Latins,  situation  of 14 

united  with  Trojans 22 

Latinus,  dream  of 14 

welcomes  Trojans 22 

Latium 14,  22,  26,  115 

Lavinia,  daughter  of  Latinus      ....     14 

marries  iEneas 22 

Lavinium,  founding  of 22 

Laws,  Athenian 95 

new  Roman  code  of 95 

Leo,  Pope 277 

Lepidus,  driven  from  Rome  by  Catulus  .  165 

one  of  Second  Triumvirate     .     .     .     .189 

recalled  to  Italy 193 

ruler  of  Africa 192 

Licinian  Law 147,  148,  149 

Licinianus,  Piso,  Galba  wishes  to  adopt  .  227 
Licinius,  colleague  of  Constantine  .     .     .  269 

Lictors 49 

Livy,  Roman  historian 198 

Locusta,  a  mixer  of  poisons  .  218,  220,  226 
Lombardy,  occupied  by  Gauls  ....  157 
Longinus,  secretary  of  Zenobia  ....  265 
Lucan,  Roman  poet,  death  of     ...     .  226 

Lucilius,  friend  of  Brutus 191 

Lucretia,  beauty  of -63 

death  of 64 

Lustrum 52 


284 


PAGE 

Lutetia,  old  name  of  Paris 271 

Lyons,  battle  at 255 

Macedon,  Alexander  of 116 

crown  of 139 

made  a  Roman  province 139 

Macedonia,  army  of  Brutus  in    ....   191 

Macedonian  phalanx .118 

Macedonians,  Antiochus  an  ally  of      .     .  138 

Greeks  freed  from 137 

Macrinus,  Emperor  of  Rome 257 

Maecenas,  a  rich  man  of  the  Augustan 

<     Age 197 

Mamertines,  quarrel  of,  with  Syracuse     .   122 

Manlius,  Capitol  save  1  by 107 

death  of 109 

relative  of,  given  name  of  Torquatus  .  112 
surname  of  Capitolinus  given  to     .     .   108 
Marcellus  I.,  Roman  commander    .     133,  134 
Marcellus  II  ,  nephew  and  son-in-law  of 

Octavius 198 

Marcia,  wife  of  Commodus 253 

Marius,  ambition  of 155 

at  court  of  Mithridates 159 

at  head  of  party  opposed  to  Sulla   .     .  159 

conquers  Jugurtha 154 

conquers  Teutons  and  Cimbri     .     .     .  157 

death  of 163 

exile  and  imprisonment  of      ....  161 

honor  paid  to 158 

returns  to  Rome 160,  162 

Sulla  leads  army  against 160 

Martyrs 225 

Masinissa,  death  of 153 

helps     Scipio     against      the    Cartha- 
ginians     136 

Maxentius,  Constantine  at  war  with         .  268 
Maximian,  associate  emperor  with  Dio- 
cletian      267 

withdraws  from  imperial  office   .     .     .  267 
Maximinus,  cruelty  and  death  of    .     .     .  260 

made  emperor 259 

strength  of 259 

Mediterranean  Sea,  ^Eneas  in     .     .     .    16,  17 
Octavius  made  governor  of    ...     .  189 

pirates  in 170 

shores  of n,  122 

Menenius  and  the  plebeians  ....  84-86 
Mesopotamia,  added  to  Roman  Empire  .  241 
Messalina,  wicked  wife  of  Claudius     .     .  215 

Metellus,  courage  of 159 

Milan 264,  267,  274 

Minturnae,  Marius  at 161 

Mithridates,  conquered  by  Pompey     .     .  171 

Marius  at  court  of 159 

warred  upon  by  Sulla 163 


PAGE 

Moors,  invade  Empire  of  West  ....  274 

Mucius,  bravery  of 76,  77 

Mylae,  naval  battle  near 123 

Narcissus,  servant  of  Claudius     216,  217,  218 

Nepos,  Cornelius 198 

Nero,  character  of 219 

death  of 227 

education  of 217 

made  emperor 218 

marries  Princess  Octavia 218 

murders  Britannicus  and  Agrippina    .  220 

rebuilds  Rome 225 

soldiers  of,  revolt 226 

wildness  and  cruelty  of      .     .     .      221-226 

Nerva,  made  emperor 239 

Nicaea,  meeting  of  Christians  at      .     .     .  270 

Nicomedia .     267,  270 

Niger,  Syrian  leader 255 

Nimes,  circus  built  at,  by  Antoninus  .     .  247 
Numa  Pompilius,  Ancus  Martius  grand- 
son of 42 

death  of 37 

second  king  of  Rome 34 

wisdom  of 34 

Numantia,  besieged  by  Romans      .     .     .142 

Numidia 136 

Numitor,  becomes  king  of  Latium  ...     22 
restored   to   throne  by  Romulus   and 
Remus 26 

Octavia  I.,  wife  of  Antony  and  sister  of 

Claudius 193,  198 

Octavia  II.,  daughter  of  Claudius   .     .     .  216 

death  of 221 

marries  Nero 218 

sent  away  by  Nero 220 

Octavius,  adopted  son  of  Caesar  ....  189 

ambition  of 192 

at  Philippi 191 

at  war  with  Antony 193-195 

first  Roman  emperor 197 

one  of  Second  Triumvirate     ....   189 
Odenathus,  one  of  Thirty  Tyrants  .     .     .  264 

Odin,  northern  god 263 

Odoacer,  becomes  king  of  Italy  ....  278 
Ostia,  built  by  Ancus  Martius    ....     46 

Ostrogoths 262 

Otho,  death  of 228 

made  emperor 228 

plots  against  Galba 227 

Ovid,  Roman  poet 198 

Paetus,  death  of 217 

Palatine,  one  of  seven  hills  of  Rome    .     .     27 
Romans  and  Sabines  fight  on     ...     31 


285 


PAGE 

Pallas,  servant  of  Claudius 216 

Palmyra,  Odenathus  prince  of    ...     .  264 

taken  by  the  Romans 265 

Pannonia,  Roman  legions  in 255 

Pantheon,  home  for  all  the  gods      .     .     .143 
Tiberius    proposes   to    have  statue   of 

Christ  in 210 

Paris,  Lutetia  old  name  of 271 

Parthians,  Crassus  makes  war  against      .  176 

threatened  invasion  of 206 

Trajan  conquers 241 

Verus  fights  against 249 

Patmos,  island  of,  St.  John  in     ....  238 

Patricians 32 

and  plebeians,  struggle  between      .  81-100 

Paul,  the  apostle,  at  Rome 223 

death  of 225 

Pergamus,  King  of     .    .     .      ....   149 

Perperna,  treachery  of 166 

Perseus,  made  Roman  prisoner  ....  139 

Persia,  Sapor  king  of 263 

war  in,  under  Diocletian 267 

Pertinax,  Emperor  of  Rome 254 

Peter,  the  apostle,  at  Rome 223 

death  of 225 

Pharsalia,  battle  at 183 

Philip,  death  of 262 

made  emperor 260 

Philip  V.,  King  of  Macedon 137 

Philippi,  battle  at 191 

Philippopolis,  destruction  of,  by  the  Goths  263 
Phoenicia,  subdued  by  Pompey  ....  172 
Phoenicians,  Britain  visited  by  ...  .  178 
Pirates,  Pompey  makes  war  upon  .  .  .170 
Piso,  agent  of  Tiberius  in  Asia   ....  207 

Placidia,  sister  of  Honorius 276 

Plebeians,  oppressed  by  patricians  .     .  81-100 

treaty  of,  with  Tarentines 116 

Pliny,  Roman  naturalist 133 

Pliny  the  Younger 242 

Plotina,  wife  of  Trajan 240 

Plutarch,  "  Lives  "  of 242 

Pompeii,  destruction  of 233 

ruins  of 234 

Pompey,  ally  of  Catulus 165 

besieged  by  Caesar  in  Dyrrachium  .     .  182 

Cinna  the  grandson  of 200 

conquers  Mithridates 171 

death  of 184 

defeated  by  Caesar  at  Pharsalia  .     .     .183 

flees  from  Rome 180 

gives  help  to  Sulla 163 

governor  of  Spain 176 

helps  Crassus  to  conquer  Spartacus     .  169 

honor  of 167 

jealousy  of 178 


PAGE 
Pompey  makes  war  against  pirates      .     .170 

member  of  Triumvirate 175 

opposition  of,  to  Caesar 179 

returns  with  spoil  to  Rome     ....   172 

troops  of 181 

Pontiffs,  appointment  of 35 

Pontius  Pilate,  governor  of  Judea    .     .     .  210 

Pontus,  Caesar  in 185 

Mithridates,  King  of 171 

Poppaea,  wife  of  Nero 220,  226 

Porsena,  besieges  Rome 76 

King  of  Clusium 73 

offers  peace  to  Rome 77 

Pretorian   guard,   bodyguard  of  Roman 

emperors 208,  254 

Ptolemy  XII.,  King  of  Egypt     ....  184 

conquered  by  Caesar 185 

Punic  faith 124 

Punic  War,  First 128 

Punic  War,  Second    .     .     .   136,  137,  139,  148 

Punic  War,  Third 140 

Pydna,  battle  at 139 

Pyrenees,  Hannibal  crosses 130 

Pyrrhus,  war  of,  with  the  Romans  .     117-120 
Pythoness 61 

Quirinal,  one  of  seven  hills  of  Rome    .   33,  48 
Quirinus,     Romulus    worshiped    under 

name  of 33 

Raetia,  Roman  legions  in        263 

Ravenna,  residence  of  Honorius  in      .     .  275 

Regillus,  Lake,  battle  at 79 

Regulus,  story  of 124-126 

Remus,  birth  of 23 

killed  by  Romulus 27 

youth  of 25,  26 

Revelation,  last  book  of  New  Testament    238 
Rhea  Sylvia,  mother  of  Romulus   and 

Remus -  ....     23 

Rhine 259,  264,  276 

Roman  Empire,  beginning  of      ....  197 

Roman  Republic,  end  of 197 

Romans,  advised  by  Brutus 66 

at  war  with  Carthage     ....     123-141 

capture  Sabine  wives 28 

extend  boundaries  of  state      .     .     .     .114 
generally  victorious  in  war     ....     45 

origin  of 13 

roads  built  by 46 

superstition  of 33 

Rome,  "  All  roads  lead  to  " 46 

beautified  by  Tarquin 47 

besieged  by  Goths  under  Alaric  .     .     .  275 

burning  of 105,  223 

capital  of  Italy 11 


286 


PAGE 

Rome  captured  by  Turks 278 

captured  by  Vandals 277 

civil  strife  in 158 

famine  in 87 

invaded  by  Gauls 104-108 

Jugurtha  carried  captive  to    ...     .  154 

monarchy  of,  ended 66 

power  of,  extended  in  the  East   .     .     .  139 

rebuilt  by  Nero 225 

Romulus  founds 27 

strangers  settle  in 43 

Tarquin  family  driven  from    ....     65 
threatened  by  Teutons  and  Cimbri  .     .  155 

Romulus,  birth  of 23 

disappearance  of 33 

kills  Remus  and  founds  Rome    ...     27 

manner  of  rule  of 32 

plots  to  secure  wives  for  Romans   .     .     28 

vultures  seen  by 277 

youth  of 25,  26 

Romulus  Augustulus,  made  emperor  of 

West 278 

Rostra,  the 124 

Rubicon,  the,  Caesar  crosses 180 

Sabines,  enter  citadel  of  Rome    ....     29 
fight  with   Romans  and  make  treaty 

with  them 31 

Sacred  Mountain 83,  84 

Saguntum,  besieged  by  Carthaginians      .  129 

Salona,  Diocletian  retires  to 267 

Samnites,  at  war  with  Rome  .  .  .  113-120 
Sapor,  Valerian  taken  prisoner  by  .     .     .  263 

Sardinia,  Lepidus  in 165 

Scaevola,  nickname  of  Mucius  ....  77 
School-teacher,  punishment  of  the  .  .  .  ioi 
Scipio,  conqueror  of  Carthage     ....  136 

defeated  by  Hannibal 130 

leaves  Rome  in  anger 137 

makes  Spain  a  Roman  province      .     .  134 

Scipio  iEmilianus 141,  150 

Scipio  Africanus 148 

Scipio  Asiaticus 138 

Scipio  Nasica 150,  151 

Scourge  of  God.     See  Attila. 

Secular  Games 260 

Sejanus,  captain  of  pretorian  guard      .     .  207 

death  of 209 

treachery  and  cruelty  of 208 

Senate  for  Women     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .  250 

Seneca,  death  of 226 

Roman  philosopher 218 

Sertorius,  affection  of  Spaniards  for    .     .  165 

treachery  of 166 

Servius  Tullius,  adopted  by  Tanaquil      .     50 
made  king 51 


PAGE 

Servius  Tullius,  murder  of 54 

reforms  of 52 

Severus,  Septimius,  conquests  of    .     .     .  255 

death  of 256 

made  emperor 254 

Sextus,  Antony  and  Octavius  make  war 

upon 193 

son  of  Pompey 184 

Sextus  Tarquinius,  and  Lucretia     ...     63 

at  Gabii 59 

driven  from  Rome 65 

Shakespeare,  Caesar  in  one  of  plays  of     .  187 

Ships,  ancient 121  . 

Sibyl,  Cumaean 57 

Sicily,  ./Eneas  returns  to 21 

Carthaginians  in 122 

occasion  of  war 193 

Pyrrhus  in 120 

Trojans  in 17 

Sirmium 267 

Slaves,  revolt  of  Roman     ....     167-170 

Snake  story  of  the  Romans 125 

Social  War 160 

Solon,  laws  of ...     95 

Spain,  Caesar  conquers 181 

conquests  of  Carthaginians  in     .     .     .  129 
given  to  Pompey  to  govern     ....  176 

Hadrian  in 244 

Lepidus  made  governor  of     ...     .  189 

Sertorius  in 165 

Spartacus,    leader    of    revolting    slaves, 

167-169,  233 

Spurius  Maelius 99 

Spurius  Posthumius,  courage  of .     .     .     .114 

defeated  by  Samnites 113 

Stilicho,  death  of 275 

Goths  defeated  by 274 

Stoics 248 

Stomach,  fable  of  the 84-86 

Sulla,  at  head  of  party  opposed  to  Ma- 

rius 159 

at  war  with  Mithridates  in  the  East    .  163 

cruelty  of 163 

death  and  epitaph  of 164 

drives  Marius  from  Rome 161 

made  commander  of  expedition  against 

Mithridates t     .  160 

rival  of  Marius 155 

Switzerland,  conquests  of  Caesar  in  .  .  176 
Syphax,  made  prisoner  by  Romans  .  .  136 
Syracuse,  besieged  by  Romans   ....  133 

largest  city  of  Sicily 122 

Syria,  Antiochus  king  of 138 

Crassus  in 176 

Palmyra  in 264 

Roman  legions  in 254 


287 


PAGE 

Syria,  Sextus  Pompey  flees  to 193 

subdued  by  Pompey 172 

Tacitus,    relative    of,   made  emperor   of 

Rome 266 

Roman  historian 242 

Tanaquil 43 »  5° 

Taranto,  Gulf  of 115 

Tarentines,  ask  aid  from  Carthage  .     .     .121 

trained  by  Pyrrhus 116 

Tarentum,  alliance  of,  with  Epirus      .     .  116 

alliance  of,  with  Samnites 115 

captured  by  Rome 121 

Tarpeia,  betrays  Rome  to  Sabines  ...     29 

Tarpeian  Rock 29,  109 

Tarquin  I.,  adviser  of  Ancus  Martius  .     .     45 

and  the  augurs 49 

and  the  eagle 43 

made  king 47 

murder  of 50 

public  works  of 48 

Tarquin  II.,  and  city  of  Gabii     .     .     .    58-60 

and  Cumaean  Sibyl 56 

asks  help  of  King  of  Clusium      ...     73 
attempt  of,  to  regain  throne   ....     67 

cruelty  of 55 

death  of 81 

disliked  by  Romans 62 

made  king 54 

makes  war  against  Rome 68 

sons  of 61 

third  attempt  of,  to  recover  throne  .     .     78 

unhappiness  of 60 

Tarquin  the  Elder.     See  Tarquin  I. 
Tarquin  the  Haughty.     See  Tarquin  II. 

Tarquinii       .     .     .     .     .  f£"' 43 

Tarquinius  Priscus.     See^.trquin  I. 
Tarquinius  Superbus.     See   Tarquin  II. 
Tarsus,  Julian  the  Apostate  buried  at .     .  272 

Tatius.  King  of  the  Sabines 31 

Taurus  Mountains 139 

Temple,   the,   at  Jerusalem,   attempt  of 

Julian  the  Apostate  to  rebuild  .     .     271 
burned  by  Romans  under  Titus  .     .     .  230 

robbed  by  Crassus 176 

Teutoburg  forest,  battle  in 201 

Teutons,  driven  back  by  Marius      .     .     .  157 

threaten  Rome 155 

Theodosius,  made  emperor 272 

one  stain  on  memory  of 273 

Thessalonica,  massacre  at 273 

Thessaly,  Csesar  and  Pompey  in     .     .     .  183 

Thirty  Tyrants,  the 264 

Thrace,  Goths  settle  in 272 

Maximinus,  native  of 259 

Philippopolis  in 263 


PAGE 

Thrasyllus,  astrologer  in  reign  of  Tibe- 
rius      203 

Thusnelda,  wife  of  Arminius 206 

Tiber  River.     .     .      21,25,26,45,73,74,78, 
152,  229,  258 

Tiberius,  character  of 202,  204 

cruelty  and  vice  of 207-209 

death  of 211 

jealousy  of,  toward  Germanicus      .     .  206 
wishes  to  make  Christ  one  of  Roman 

gods 210 

Tiberius  Gracchus,  death  of 150 

made  tribune 148 

reforms  of 149 

Tibur,  castle  at,  built  by  Hadrian   .     .     .245 

Zenobia's  home  near 266 

Titus,  character  of 233 

death  of 234 

Jerusalem  besieged  by 229 

Jerusalem  taken  by 230 

made  emperor 231 

Titus,  Arch  of 231 

Torquatus,  discipline  maintained  by    .     .113 

elected  consul 112 

Trajan,  Christians  persecuted  by    .     .     .  242 

column  of 241 

conquests  of 240,  241 

death  of 242 

kindness  of 239 

made  emperor 239 

name  of,  honored 242 

Trajanopolis 242 

Trasimenus,  Lake,  battle  at 131 

Trebia,  battle  at 130 

Treves 267 

Tribunes,  duties  of  the 86 

Triumph,  Roman 69-72 

Triumvirate 175 

Trojans,  bravery  of 14 

reach  Italy 21 

Troy,  siege  of 14 

Tullia,  cruelty  of 55 

plot  of .     .     53 

Tullus  Hostilius,  death  of 42 

made  king  of  Rome 37 

Tunis 17,  19,  122 

Turks,  Rome  captured  by 278 

Turnus 14,  22 

Ulfilas,  Christian  teacher 272 

Unlucky,  gate  called  the 92 

Valens,  Emperor  of  Rome 272 

Valentinian,  Emperor  of  Rome   ....  272 

Valentinian  III,  death  of 277 

made  emperor  of  West 276 


288 


PAGE 

Valerian,  made  emperor 263 

taken  prisoner  by  King  of  Per?  a    .     .  263 

Valerius  I.,  death  of 81 

made  consul ...     68 

triumph  of 69 

wealth  of 73 

Valerius  II.,  fight  of,  with  Gal  ic  giant     .   in 

given  surname  of  Corvus 112 

Vandals,  the,  Genseric  king  el'    ...     .  276 

Varro 132 

Varus,  Roman  general  . 201 

Veii,  people  of 68 

Rome  at  war  with 91 

"  Veni,  vidi,  vici" 185 

Venus,  meets  Mneas  in  Africa    ....     19 

mother  of  JEneas 15 

Verus,  death  of 250 

sent  against  Parthians 249 

Vespasian,  death  of 231 

made  emperor 229 

Rome  improved  by 230 

Vesta,  goddess 23.  34 

Vestal  virgins,  and  Coriolanus    ....     88 

duties  of 23,  34 

Vesuvius,  Mount,  slaves  retreat  to,     167,  233 
Veturia,  mother  of  Coriolanus     ....     90 

Victory,  pagan  god .  272 

Vienna,  Marcus  Aurelius  dies  at      ...  251 


PAGE 
Viminal,  one  of  seven  hills  of  Rome    .     .     48 

Virgil,  author  of  the  Mneid 198 

Virginia,  story  of 96-98 

Virginius,  father  of  Virginia 96 

Visigoths,  kingdom  of,  founded  ....  276 

tribe  of  Goths 262 

Vitellius,  death  of 229 

gluttony  of 228 

made  emperor 228 

Volumnia,  wife  of  Coriolanus  ....  90 
Volscians,  Tarquin  makes  war  against  .     .     58 

wars  of  Rome  with   .     82,  83,  87,  88,  98,  99 


West,  Empire  of,  end  of 278 

West  Goths,  see  Visigoths. 

Wicked  Street 55 

Women,  senate  for 258 


Xanthippus,  Carthaginian  general 


ias 


Yoke,  army  passing  under  the     ....  93 

York,  Constantine  dies  at 268 

Severus  dies  at 256 

Zama,  battle  at 136 

Zenobia,  Queen  of  Palmyra 265 


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